Click here to follow Ben Hudd (@benonsport) on Twitter. Click here to watch Raymond van Barneveld’s full press conference.
Raymond van Barneveld has rolled the years in Wolverhampton in fairytale fashion, and the doyen of Dutch darts now sets his sights on Grand Slam of Darts glory on the ten-year anniversary of his 2012 triumph.
Barney always believed, his faith in the darting gods had been restored. Even at 8-3 behind against three-time champion Gerwyn Price, his head didn’t drop and his action remained authoritative.
“What a battle, I’m so happy and you cannot describe in words how happy I am,” Van Barneveld said, having mounted a spirited comeback to reach the semi-finals of a ranking major for the first time since the 2017 World Championship.
Van Barneveld silenced the doubters, surprised the pundits and even achieved the improbable. The legendary Dutchman produced an imposing 99.64 average, four four-visit legs and a confidence-installing display to overcome the current world number one in a prolonged contest.
“I’m 55 years old so you tell me. If you look at a guy with bumped up muscles like that and he’s in the gym maybe four or five times a week,” Van Barneveld expressed. “I’ve proved them wrong. If you believe in things and if you battle and fight, you can achieve all and anything.
“I’d already beaten him in the group and I don’t honestly believe he’s ever beaten me on stage. He’d won three Grand Slam titles in four years, he’s a world champion, a world number one and such an amazing player. If you achieve these things against him, how happy can you be? It’s incredible.”
It was six-time champion Phil Taylor who defeated Van Barneveld when he last reached the Grand Slam semi-finals seven years ago, and the 16-time world champion has provided him with encouragement during his remarkable Wolverhampton resurgence.
“He’s there all the time. He’s giving me text messages – ‘you can do this buddy’ and ‘I believe in you’ and I really appreciate that,” Van Barneveld explained. “He doesn’t need to do this – he’s the best ever darts player in the world.
“We had many fights and he’s behind me. That’s given me an incredibly good feeling, and I don’t want to disappoint that man, my family or my future wife.”
Three years on from his short-lived retirement from professional darts, the revived Van Barneveld is back at the business end of a major tournament. Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall and Luke Humphries are his title rivals – all members of the new guard on the darting scene.
The sport’s showpiece spectacles are where the five-time world champion has always thrived nonetheless, and they were always in the back of his mind when he was slugging it out on the PDC ProTour.
Van Barneveld, who did actually secure a Players Championship success days into his professional return two years ago, opened up on his struggles in the floor tournaments, where contesting numerous matches across an afternoon is essential.
“My biggest problem was I got stuck to these ProTours – early wake up calls at like 07:00 in the morning, breakfast at 07:30, 09:00 in the playing area, practise for three hours and you never know who you’re going to draw,” Van Barneveld said.
“I’ve found that hard. For the first time in my life, this year I’ve played in all 30 ProTours because I’ve signed a management contract and they said that goes first.
“After 17 or 18 tournaments, I was still winning the first round and then losing in the second or third. I am thinking ‘Ray, this is not going well’. I’m not a morning person – I don’t like breakfast and you need that to prepare yourself pretty well.
“I was targeting the TV tournaments. I qualified and I’m through to the semi-finals and that’s what it’s all about. Hopefully I’ll have an amazing game against Mike because when he hits his scores and he does what he does, he’s one of the best in the world.”
