| Raymond van Barneveld | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Van Barneveld in 2019 | |||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Nickname | "Barney" | ||||||
| Born | (1967-04-20)20 April 1967 (age 58) The Hague, Netherlands | ||||||
| Darts information | |||||||
| Playing darts since | 1984 | ||||||
| Darts | 25g Target Signature | ||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||
| Walk-on music | "Eye of the Tiger" bySurvivor | ||||||
| Organisation (seesplit in darts) | |||||||
| BDO | 1987–2006 | ||||||
| PDC | 2006–2019, 2021– (Tour Card 2011–2019, 2021–) | ||||||
| Current world ranking | (PDC) 35 (23 November 2025)[1] | ||||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||||
| World Championship | Winner (4):1998,1999,2003,2005 | ||||||
| World Masters | Winner (2):2001,2005 | ||||||
| World Trophy | Winner (2):2003,2004 | ||||||
| Int. Darts League | Winner (3): 2003, 2004,2006 | ||||||
| Finder Masters | Winner (4): 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004 | ||||||
| Dutch Open | Winner (3): 2001, 2004, 2006 | ||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||
| World Championship | Winner (1):2007 | ||||||
| World Matchplay | Runner-up:2010 | ||||||
| World Grand Prix | Runner-up:2008,2009 | ||||||
| UK Open | Winner (2):2006,2007 | ||||||
| Grand Slam | Winner (1):2012 | ||||||
| European Championship | Semi-final:2011,2014 | ||||||
| Premier League | Winner (1):2014 | ||||||
| Desert Classic | Winner (1):2007 | ||||||
| US Open/WSoD | Runner-up:2007 | ||||||
| PC Finals | Quarter-final:2009,2013,2016,2019 | ||||||
| Masters | Runner-up:2015,2018 | ||||||
| Champions League | Semi-final:2017 | ||||||
| World Series Finals | Semi-final:2018 | ||||||
| WSDT major events – best performances | |||||||
| Champions | Semi-final: 2025 | ||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||
European Tour Events
Players Championships (×10)
UK Open Regionals/Qualifiers (×7)
| |||||||
| Other achievements | |||||||
| 1998BDO Personality Award 1999 Major citizen ofThe Hague 1999 Named in theOrder of Orange-Nassau 2003 I.D.P.A. Leighton Rees Men's Player of the Year Award 2006 PDC Best Newcomer 2006 PDC Fans' Player of the Year 2008 PDC Best Floor Player | |||||||
| Updated on 3 June 2018. | |||||||
Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professionaldarts player who competes inProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he was ranked world number one from January 2008 to June 2008. Nicknamed"Barney", he is a five-time World Champion (four-timeBDO and one-timePDC). He is also a two-timeUK Open champion, and a former winner of theLas Vegas Desert Classic, theGrand Slam and thePremier League. He is also a two-timeWorld Masters winner, and a formerWorld Darts Trophy champion. He is a three-time winner of both theInternational Darts League, theDutch Open, and theWDF World Cup singles event.
Van Barneveld has won thePDC World Cup of Darts four times (once partneringCo Stompé and thrice partneringMichael van Gerwen) and theWDF World Cup Pairs once (partneringVincent van der Voort). He also won the PDC World Pairs alongsideRoland Scholten. His victory overPhil Taylor in the2007 PDC World Championship final, added to his four previousBDO World Championships brought him level withEric Bristow as a five-time world champion; he is one of only three players in darts history to achieve this.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest darts players of all time, he is one of the most successful darts players in history, and has had a significant effect in raising the popularity of darts in the Netherlands. He is naturally left-handed but throws darts with his right hand.
In November 2018, van Barneveld announced his intention to retire from darts after the2020 PDC World Darts Championship.[2][3] On 28 March 2019, following a 7–1 defeat to Michael van Gerwen in his final Premier League match, he announced his retirement with immediate effect,[4] but reversed his decision the following day. He retired again following his first-round exit at the 2020 World Championship.[5] In February 2021, 14 months after retiring, he regained his professional tour card after qualifying at2021 PDC Qualifying School.[6]
Van Barneveld began participating in competitive events around the Netherlands since 1984 when he was 17 years old. During that year he won his first tournament, which was the Rotterdam Open. From there onwards, Van Barneveld was considered among his compatriots as a future potential. In the following years he joined the international darts circuit, achieving further success reaching the semi-finals of the 1987 Belgian Open,[7] and reaching the semi-finals in the 1988 Dutch Open.[7] In September 1990, he participated in theWDF Europe Cup singles where he lost in the quarter-finals toPhil Taylor.[7]
Van Barneveld's World Championship debut was at the 1991Embassy World Championship at theLakeside Country Club, however had little impact losing 3–0 in the last 32, to Keith Sullivan of Australia.[7] He started to make some progress on theBritish Darts Organisation circuit in the early 1990s, reaching the quarter-finals of the Belgian Open in September 1990,[7] and the German Open in March 1991.[7] His first semi-final came at the Swiss Open in June 1991.[7]
He returned to Lakeside in 1993,[7] which would be the last time that a unified World Championship would be staged. Van Barneveld served notice of his potential when he hit a 170 checkout to go 2 sets to 1 in front againstJohn Lowe during their second-round match, but Lowe came back to win the match 3–2,[7] and go on to win the title. Shortly after the 1993 World Final, the top players in the World Darts Council (WDC, now thePDC) weresuspended and later banned fromBDO tournaments.
In 1994, he reached the quarter-finals of both Dutch Open and Berlin Open,[7] the semi-final at the Belgium Open and his first and the Finnish Open, where he lost toAndy Fordham.[7] He continued his good run of form into the 1995 World Championship by beatingLes Wallace,Dave Askew,Colin Monk andMartin Adams to reach his first World Final.[7] Van Barneveld's run to the final would eventually come to an end as he was defeated 6–3 byWelshmanRichie Burnett.[7]
After second round exits in 1996 and 1997 Championships,[7] Van Barneveld claimed his first world title in the 1998 World Championship,[7] in a World Final grudge match meeting against Richie Burnett.[7] This time Van Barneveld was the victor, edging Burnett 6–5 in a game which is often considered to be one of the greatest finals of all time[by whom?] having reached 5–5 in sets Van Barneveld finally took the title by winning the final set 4–2 in legs on double 8.[7]
He successfully defended the trophy the year later by the same winning margin as the previous year, this time againstRonnie Baxter.[7] This made him only the second player in the tournament's history to have launched a successful defence of his title; the other being Eric Bristow. Martin Adams and Glen Durrant would later also achieve this feat. In November 1999, Van Barneveld, the then 2-time reigningLakeside World Champion, took onPhil Taylor, the then 7-time World Champion and reigningPDC world champion, at theWembley Conference Centre. It was a legs match with a 60-minute clock ticking down to zero, with a short break at around the halfway stage. Van Barneveld lost the match 21–10.[7]
Van Barneveld exited in the first round of the World Championships in 2000, crashing out toChris Mason, whoaveraged 100 and ended Van Barneveld's hopes of ahat-trick of titles, as well as avenging a semi final loss from the previous year.[7]
Van Barneveld lost in the quarter-finals in 2001 (5–4 toTed Hankey) and 2002 (5–3 toMervyn King) before returning to the final in 2003. He clinched his third world title by beating Ritchie Davies of Wales 6–3.[7]
Van Barneveld's 2004 campaign ended in the semi-finals, whenAndy Fordham recovered from being 3–0 and 4–2 behind, to beat Van Barneveld 5–4.[7] A fourth title followed in 2005. He never dropped a set in the first three rounds as he beatGary Anderson,Mike Veitch andVincent van der Voort. A 5–3 semi-final win overDarryl Fitton and 6–2 triumph overMartin Adams ofEngland in the final brought him that fourth title.[7]
Van Barneveld reached his sixth final in 2006, and was aiming to equal Bristow's record of five BDO world titles. However, his opponent, 21-year-old fellow countrymanJelle Klaasen, prevailed 7–5.[7]
He has also won the prestigious Winmau World Masters title twice: once in 2001 when he recorded a win in the final overJarkko Komula of Finland and again in 2005 when he beatGöran Klemme in the final.[7] Other major darts tournaments that he has won at least twice include The World Darts Trophy and The International Darts League.[7]
After playing in the BDO for twenty years, winning four World Championships, Van Barneveld announced his move from theBDO to thePDC on 15 February 2006. He cited his reasons as wanting a greater challenge, and regularly playing against players likePhil Taylor.[8] Having started from scratch in the rankings, within twelve months he had reached world number two and became World Champion.
His PDC debut came in the2006 Premier League competition. He won his first match 8–1 against Baxter. On 23 March, he hit his first televisednine dart finish and faced Taylor later in the same night, fighting back for a 7–7 draw. The rematch came on Van Barneveld's 39th birthday, but this time Taylor won the deciding leg for an 8–6 victory. Van Barneveld lost in a surprise 11–3 semi-final defeat in the Premier League to fellow DutchmanRoland Scholten.[7]
Van Barneveld then started a successful run with a 13–5 final victory overColin Lloyd in the final of the International Darts League for his 11th BDO Grand Slam tournament. He won his first major PDC title in June by beating Barrie Bates in the final of theUK Open at theReebok Stadium,Bolton. Earlier in the day, he beat Taylor in the quarter-finals, accomplishing one of his dreams which he announced after switching to the PDC. Van Barneveld beat Taylor again just weeks later in the semi-finals of the2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic. He lost 6–3 to CanadianJohn Part in the final the following day.[7]
In September 2006, soon after losing to 17-year-oldMichael van Gerwen in the first round of the2006 World Darts Trophy, Van Barneveld acknowledged that he needed to work on his finishing throws, and he made alterations to his game. He changed his darts and began using the "stacking" technique used by Taylor. The darts used were a gram lighter than his old ones and cost the equivalent of £1 from a local store in the Netherlands. Although he played well in the2006 World Grand Prix, he lost to Phil Taylor in the second round.[7]
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Taylor and Van Barneveld met again in the2007 PDC World Championship final, in a match which Taylor later described as the best final he had been involved in. From three sets down, Van Barneveld came back to beat Taylor 7–6 in the sudden death leg in one of the greatest darts matches of all time[according to whom?] to match Bristow's record of five world titles.[9] In February 2007, Van Barneveld won the 2007Masters of Darts tournament by beatingPeter Manley 7–0 in sets in the final with a 107 three dart average.[7]
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In the 2007Premier League Darts, he never fared as well as he did in 2006, losing to Taylor twice,Dennis Priestley and Lloyd in the group section. He finished second but lost an error-filled encounter 11–10 toTerry Jenkins in the semi-final.[7]
Van Barneveld made amends for his Premier League campaign by inflicting one of Taylor's heaviest defeats (11–4) in the quarter-final of the 2007 UK Open and went on to successfully defend his title beating Lloyd 11–4 in the semi-final and Van der Voort in the final 16–8. In doing this, Van Barneveld became the first person to successfully defend the UK Open crown. A month later, he continued his surge of major titles by beating Terry Jenkins 13 legs to 6 in the final of the2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic. Van Barneveld's dream of winning the five major ranking PDC tournament titles in 2007 – the World Championship, UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix ended when he was defeated byAdrian Lewis 16 legs to 14 in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay inBlackpool.[7]
His haul of titles in the PDC continued to grow since his switch. In addition to his five major titles (the World Championship, two UK Open Championships, the Vegas Desert Classic, and the Masters of Darts) – he has added eleven non-televisedPDC Pro Tour titles (five UK Open Regionals and six Players Championships).[7]
2008 proved to be Van Barneveld's most barren year thus far in the PDC in terms of success, with him not winning a major tournament. His defence of theWorld Championship crown was seriously thwarted by a bout of flu. He managed to win his first two matches comfortably, although he nearly had to retire during his second-round match due to breathing problems. He was defeated byKevin Painter in the 3rd round by 4 sets to 2. Following this, he reached the semi-finals of the 2008 Premier League Darts, but was defeated for the third consecutive year at this stage of the tournament, defeated byJames Wade. He was also knocked out of the early stages of the US Open, the Las Vegas Desert Classic byAlan Tabern and in the semi-finals of the UK Open byGary Mawson, after having defeated rival Taylor by 10 legs to 9 a round earlier. He was also defeated in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay byWayne Mardle, despite leading 12 legs to 7 at one stage. However, Van Barneveld did regain some form in the World Grand Prix reaching the final of the tournament, before being defeated by Taylor by 6 sets to 2. He then lost to Lewis in the quarter-finals of the inauguralEuropean Darts Championship in November losing by 9 legs to 2.[7]
Van Barneveld threw another televisedNine-dart finish in the2009 World Championship in his quarter-final match against fellow DutchmanKlaasen on 2 January 2009. Van Barneveld hit two maximum 180s before nailing treble 20, treble 19 and double 12 to complete his nine-darter in the second leg of the sixth set.[10]The feat earned Van Barneveld £20,000 – the bonus had not been won since Taylor's nine-darter at the UK Open againstJamie Harvey – as he became the first player to throw a perfect leg in the PDC World Championship. Van Barneveld went on to win the match 5–1, with a 161 finish, and then won his semi-final against Wade. However, he lost 7-1 to Taylor in the final. As a result of his failure to defend the £100,000 he won at the 2007 World Championship (his runner-up position earned him £60,000) he dropped from 2nd to 3rd in thePDC Order of Merit.
Van Barneveld threw his fourth nine dart finish in the Blue Square UK Open West Midlands Regional on 29 March 2009 in the third round against Kirk Shepherd. Barney only earned £400 for this as Mervyn King snapped up the £4,000 bonus on 28 March 2009 at the Coventry Players Championship with anine dart finish.
In the 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic, Barney returned to form, losing narrowly to Phil Taylor 13–11 in the final. After the game, Barney took the microphone from Sky Sports presenter Dave Clark and gave a speech about Phil Taylor.
After his quarter final World Matchplay defeat by Terry Jenkins, Van Barneveld took another sabbatical from darts. He declined entries for the Championship of Darts and the South African Masters. There was speculation[by whom?] Van Barneveld was considering retiring from the sport, but he stated after his first-round win in the 2009 World Grand Prix over Alan Tabern that he was suffering fromdiabetes and his absence was in order to get fit and healthy and going to the gym. He also attributed the diabetes towards his form in major tournaments. Van Barneveld reached the World Grand Prix final for the second successive year, but again lost to Taylor, this time by 6 sets to 3.[7]
On 28 December 2009, he hit another nine-darter in the second round of the PDC World Championship againstBrendan Dolan, becoming the first player to hit two nine-dart finishes in the PDC World Championship.[11] He went on to reach the semi-finals before losing 6–5 toSimon Whitlock. He also lost the third-place play-off 10–8 in legs toMark Webster.[7]
In the2010 World Championship,Simon Whitlock defeated Van Barneveld 6–5 in a close semi final encounter.[7]
On 29 April 2010, Van Barneveld hit another nine-darter againstTerry Jenkins at the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts in Aberdeen.[12] This came during a poor Premier League campaign in which he only finished in sixth place. During the Premier League, Barney said that he was suffering from personal problems back home and claimed that he and his family were being blackmailed. He failed to qualify for the 2010 UK Open, having only entered one of the eight qualifying events (only players who entered three or more events were eligible to qualify).
Van Barneveld returned to top form at the2010 World Matchplay. In the first round againstDenis Ovens on 17 July 2010, Van Barneveld hit another nine-darter. After then defeatingAlan Tabern andCo Stompé, Van Barneveld defeated former World Matchplay champion,James Wade, by 17–8 in the semi-final. In the final, Phil Taylor defeated Van Barneveld 18–12.[7]
At the2011 World Championship, he lost in the quarter-finals to an in formGary Anderson.[7]
The 2011 Premier League saw a slight return of form after he hit 4 100+ finishes and defeatedSimon Whitlock 8–3 with a 100.15 average. He went on to win his next match againstAdrian Lewis 8–6, before losing toPhil Taylor in their match, 8–3. In week 6, he defeated Mark Webster 8–4 with a high average of 100.98 and also hit a 161 checkout. He went on to defeat Gary Anderson 8–5 in week 7 with an average of 101.44. Van Barneveld finished the league phase in second place behind Taylor, but then lost in the semi-final to Anderson, which was the fifth time in six years that Van Barneveld had reached the Premier League semi finals without getting into the final.
The 2011 UK Open saw Barneveld progress to the fifth round of the competition where he was defeated 9–1 by an on form Wes Newton who was eventual runner-up.[13]
On the day of his first-round match in the 2011 World Matchplay Barney lost his darts. He contacted his sponsors with a S.O.S which meant they had to contact the closest supplier to deliver a new set for him. He received the set with no problems and used them to defeat Steve Brown 10–3 averaging 95.56.[7]
Van Barneveld was the victim of one of the biggest upsets inPDC World Championship history in2012. He lost 0–3 in the first round to world number 85,James Richardson, winning just four legs during the match.[14] He teamed up withVincent van der Voort for the2012 PDC World Cup of Darts to try to defend the title Van Barneveld won withCo Stompé in2010. Together they enjoyed comfortable victories over Austria and Northern Ireland to set up a semi-final clash with the Australian pair ofPaul Nicholson andSimon Whitlock. Van Barneveld beat Nicholson 4–0 in their singles match, but this was the only point the Dutch won as they relinquished their crown in a 5–1 defeat.[15]
Van Barneveld was aSky Sports pick for thePremier League.[16] During the tournament he produced his then highest ever televised average of 112.28 whilst defeatingKevin Painter 8–6.[17] He went into the final round of matches knowing a win overJames Wade would secure him a place in the play-offs, but could only manage to draw the match 7–7 to finish 5th in the table, out of the play-off places on leg difference.[18]
Van Barneveld won theUK Open Qualifier 5 by beatingAndy Smith 6–3 in the final, after earlier overcomingSimon Whitlock andTerry Jenkins. He also hit a nine-dart finish in his third round match against Michael Barnard.[19] He completed a weekend double by winningEvent 6 a day later after defeatingIan White 6–2 in the final.[20] In theUK Open itself, he beatJelle Klaasen andAndy Hamilton to reach the last 16.[21] In this match he playedPeter Wright and looked to be exiting the tournament as Van Barneveld trailed 8–6, with his opponent on a 138 finish to win the match. Wright hit treble 20, single 18 and required a single 20 to leave double tops when he returned. However, he hit another treble 20 to bust his score, and Van Barneveld went on to take a 9–8 victory.[22] He playedDave Chisnall in the quarter-finals and never recovered from a poor start in which he lost the opening five legs and succumbed 10–5.[23] However, Van Barneveld gained revenge over Chisnall in the final of theEuropean Tour Event 3 inDüsseldorf, by defeating him 6–4 and claimed his first European Tour title.[24]
At theWorld Matchplay Van Barneveld lost toTerry Jenkins 13–10 in the last 16.[25] In September, he broke his highest televised average for the second time this year by averaging 113.04 in a 6–1 win against Jenkins at theEuropean Championship.[26] He went on to the quarter-finals, where he lost 10–8 toKim Huybrechts.[27]
In November 2012, Van Barneveld won his first major tournament in over five years at the non-rankingGrand Slam of Darts. He beatMark Walsh 5–0 in his first group match, before losing 5–4 to BDO World ChampionChristian Kist in his second. However, a 5–2 win overWayne Jones from 2–0 down was enough to see him qualify for the knockout stage, where he defeated fellow DutchmanWesley Harms 10–4 in the last 16, avenged his earlier loss to Kist in the quarter-finals by winning 16–10, and beatAndy Hamilton 16–10 in the semi-finals to set up an all-Dutch clash withGrand Prix championMichael van Gerwen.[28] Van Barneveld was never behind in the final and although he missed three chances to win 16–13, he sealed the title in the following leg with an 11-darter against the throw.[29] His win was later named the best PDC Televised Performance of the Year.[30]
After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Van Barneveld finished fourth on the Order of Merit to qualify for thePlayers Championship Finals where he lost 6–5 toSteve Beaton in the first round.[31][32]
Van Barneveld began the2013 World Championship by throwing the sixth highest average in the history of the tournament in his first round 3–0 defeat ofMichael Smith. In a match that lasted only 18 minutes he averaged 108.31 as he never looked in danger of exiting the tournament at the first hurdle for the second successive year.[33] He beat Brendan Dolan 4–1,Gary Anderson 4–0 andSimon Whitlock 5–1 to reach the semi-finals where he facedPhil Taylor.[7]
Before the match Van Barneveld commented that he wasn't scared of Taylor and wanted to face him rather than Taylor's quarter-final opponentAndy Hamilton.[34] Van Barneveld was 5–1 down in the match and almost staged a fightback as he won three successive sets to trail only 5–4. However, Taylor won the next set by three legs to one to take the match.[35] The pair were involved in an angry confrontation after the match. Taylor reacted angrily when Van Barneveld pulled him back after their handshake, with both men being escorted away separately by security staff.[36] Van Barneveld stated later that he was only trying to congratulate Taylor in a sportsmanlike way and give him a hug. Taylor apologised for his behaviour a day later.[37]
In his thirdWorld Cup of Darts and first withMichael van Gerwen, the Dutch pair suffered a shock in the last 16 when they were beaten 5–3 by the Finnish duo ofJani Haavisto andJarkko Komula.[38] Van Barneveld was never out of the top four in thePremier League during all 14 weeks of the league phase.[39] He won 10 out of his 16 games to finish second in the table which set up a semi-final meeting with Taylor against whom he had lost 7–3 and drawn with 6–6 in their two league clashes.[39] From level at 3–3 in the semi-final, Taylor stormed away to win 8–4 to deny Van Barneveld his first Premier League final.[40] Van Barneveld reached the final of the non-ranking Dubai Masters thanks to 10–6 and 11–5 wins overAdrian Lewis andJames Wade.[41] He faced Van Gerwen and was beaten 7–11.[42] Van Barneveld defeated defending championRobert Thornton in the last 16 of the2013 UK Open and survived one match dart fromRonnie Baxter in the quarter-finals to win 10–9.[43] His semi-final againstAndy Hamilton went into a last leg decider, with Van Barneveld missing a total of six darts for the match to lose 10–9.[44] He lost in the second round of theEuropean Championship andWorld Matchplay to Thornton andJustin Pipe respectively.[45][46] Van Barneveld put his bad form behind him in October by securing his first ranking title of 2013 at the tenthPlayers Championship of the year with a 6–3 defeat ofPeter Wright in the final.[47] However, less than a week later in the second round of theWorld Grand Prix he was beaten 3–0 by Michael van Gerwen in 21 minutes.[48] In the defence of hisGrand Slam of Darts title he beatRicky Evans andTony O'Shea, but lost his final group game againstMervyn King to be knocked out of the competition on leg difference.[49]
Van Barneveld took a 3–2 lead in sets overMark Webster in the third round of the2014 World Championship, but afterward exited the tournament losing 4–3.[50] He had a poor run of form in theUK Open Qualifiers to be placed 66th on the Order of Merit meaning he entered the tournament in the first-round stage.[51] Van Barneveld had four comfortable victories to reach the fifth round where he was beaten 9–2 byAdrian Lewis.[52] He produced some of his most consistent darts in years during thePremier League as he remained unbeaten for 12 matches during the season to finish second in thetable.[53] In the semi-finals he secured his first win overPhil Taylor in the tournament after 21 attempts, having fought back from 4–1 down to triumph 8–5. It was the first time he had advanced beyond the semi-finals of the event, after losing at this stage in six previous years.[54] Van Barneveld then won four successive legs from 5–5 in the final againstMichael van Gerwen and went on to win the title 10–6.[55] His finishing proved to be the difference between him and the rest of the nine players as throughout the 18 matches his checkout percentage was 50.22, seven percent higher thanSimon Whitlock in second place.[56] Afterwards, Van Barneveld revealed he had received therapy for depression in January due to the monotony of travelling and playing in events every week.[54]
At theWorld Cup of Darts, Van Barneveld and Van Gerwen produced a 117.88 average in their doubles decider against Northern Ireland to whitewash them 4–0 and meet England's Taylor and Lewis in the final. Van Gerwen defeated Taylor 4–0 and Van Barneveld recorded the same scoreline against Lewis. Van Gerwen went into his singles match versus Lewis knowing a win would earn the Dutch pair the title and he did so with a 4–2 success.[57] Early on in his second round match againstMervyn King at theWorld Grand Prix, Van Barneveld was visibly struggling with a back problem but battled to trail 2–1 in sets. However, in the fourth set he missed 30 starting doubles and began throwing at the bullseye. King duly won the match, with Van Barneveld issuing an apology to the PDC and the television viewers for giving up.[58] At the next major event, theEuropean Championship, Van Barneveld wore glasses during a match for the first time in his career and explained after his 6–4 first round win overSimon Whitlock that his diabetes can occasionally blur his vision.[59] He won through to the semi-finals, but was beaten 11–6 by Van Gerwen who threw a nine darter during the game.[60] The pair also met in the next televised event theMasters, in a first round match which went to a deciding leg with Van Gerwen leaving 32 after nine darts and edging Van Barneveld 10–9.[61] He lost to newcomerKeegan Brown 10–7 in the last 16 of theGrand Slam and was drawn to face Van Gerwen in the first round again this time at thePlayers Championship Finals where he was defeated 6–2.[62][63]
Van Barneveld decided not to wear his glasses in the first round of the2015 World Championship and took out finishes of 167 and 170 in beatingRowby-John Rodriguez 3–0.[64] He was then involved in three successive matches in which there was never more than a set between Van Barneveld and his opponent as he edged pastJamie Caven 4–3,Adrian Lewis 4–3 (despite Lewis hitting a 9-darter and missing one match dart) andStephen Bunting 5–4.[65] In the Bunting match he returned from a break after the fourth set with his glasses on explaining afterwards that the board was looking blurry.[66] Van Barneveld looked to have got himself back into his semi-final meeting withPhil Taylor when he recovered from 2–0 down to draw level, but his lengthy previous matches seemed to take effect as he could not win another set to be defeated 6–2.[67] At theMasters he knocked out newly crowned world championGary Anderson 11–6 in the semi-finals, but was beaten by a reversal of this scoreline againstMichael van Gerwen in the final.[68]
He eliminated reigning championAdrian Lewis 9–3 at theUK Open, but then lost a televised match againstPeter Wright for the first time as he was comprehensively beaten 9–1.[69] In week seven of thePremier League, Van Barneveld defeated Taylor 7–4, despite Taylor averaging 115.80, the highest losing average in the history of televised darts.[70] Van Barneveld survived relegation by leg difference, but then won six of his last seven matches to qualify for the play-offs. It included 7–2, 7–3 and 7–2 victories over Taylor, Van Gerwen and Lewis respectively.[71] From 4–4 in the semi-finals against Van Gerwen, Van Barneveld won three successive legs which included missing double 12 for a nine-darter. However, Van Gerwen then took five legs on the trot and went on to win 10–8.[72] The pair were knocked out in the semi-finals of theWorld Cup in a doubles match against Scotland's Anderson and Wright.[73] He was eliminated in the first round of theWorld Matchplay for the first time in his career whenAndy Hamilton beat him 10–7.[74] Van Barneveld missed five championship darts in the final of the last leg of theAuckland Darts Masters to lose 11–10 against Lewis.[75] He reached his first Pro Tour final in nearly two years at the 16thPlayers Championship, but lost 6–4 toJelle Klaasen.[76]Van Barneveld beatLarry Butler to qualify from his group at theGrand Slam and then came pastJames Wade 10–7 andMark Webster 16–12 to reach the semi-finals, where he lost 16–12 to Taylor.[77]
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At the2016 World Championship, Van Barneveld edged pastStephen Bunting in a final set decider for a second year in a row and then playedMichael van Gerwen, who he had lost to 10 times out of 13 throughout 2015.[78] Van Barneveld won 4–3, despite Van Gerwen averaging 105.78 which was at the time the highest to ever lose a match in the event.[79] A third successive match went the distance in the quarter-finals after Van Barneveld recovered from a 3–0 deficit againstMichael Smith. In the final set he survived one match dart from Smith and Van Barneveld won four legs in a row to move into the semi-finals where he playedAdrian Lewis.[80] This time he was 5–0 down and then won a trio of sets, but his poor start cost him as he lost 6–3.[81] Van Barneveld finished the year seventh in thePremier League table to fail to qualify for the Play-offs for the first time since 2012. It was also his lowest position out of all of his 11 appearances at the event.[82] The Netherlands team reached the final of theWorld Cup and it went to a deciding singles match in whichAdrian Lewis beat Van Gerwen 4–1.[83]
Van Barneveld was knocked out in the first round of theWorld Matchplay for the second successive year asBrendan Dolan won 10–7.[84] He did not drop a set in reaching the semi-finals of theWorld Grand Prix as he overcameMervyn King, Lewis andBenito van de Pas, but was defeated 4–1 byGary Anderson.[85] At theGrand Slam, Van Barneveld averaged over 100 in each of his three group games to top the table and then saw off the BDO's number oneGlen Durrant 10–7 to play Anderson in the quarter-finals.[86] The lead changed hands six times and Anderson closed the match with 13, 12, 11 and 11 dart legs to progress 16–13.[87] Van Barneveld reached another quarter-final at thePlayers Championship Finals and he averaged 103, but Van Gerwen's 108.03 proved too strong as he won 10–5.[88]
Van Barneveld edged pastAdrian Lewis 4–3 in the third round of the2017 World Championship and his 5–3 victory overPhil Taylor in the quarter-finals meant that Van Barneveld had reached the semi-finals for the last three years in the event.[89] He took the first set without reply in his quest to reach his first final since 2009. However,Michael van Gerwen then produced the best performance ever seen in a World Championship game as he hit a tournament record average of 114.05 to win 6–2. Van Barneveld averaged 109.34 himself, the highest to ever lose a World Championship match.[90] He also had a high losing average in the quarter-finals of theUK Open asPeter Wright came from 8–7 down to win 10–8 with Van Barneveld averaging 108.10.[91] The Netherlands won their firstWorld Cup since 2014 by seeing off the Welsh team ofGerwyn Price andMark Webster 3–1 in the final.[92]
Van Barneveld reached the quarter-final of the2018 World Championship, losing toMichael van Gerwen 5–4.[93] He reached his first premier event final for three years at the2018 Masters, being defeated by Van Gerwen.[94] Partnering Van Gerwen at the2018 PDC World Cup of Darts, the Dutch duo retained their title, beating the Scotland pair ofGary Anderson andPeter Wright.[95]
Van Barneveld announced on 19 November that he would retire after the2020 PDC World Darts Championship.[96]
Van Barneveld was eliminated in the second round of the2019 World Championship byDarius Labanauskas.[97] He was invited to the2019 Premier League Darts, being eliminated after the first phase, having been bottom of the table after nine matches.[98] Following the elimination, Van Barneveld announced his immediate retirement on 28 March,[99] before reversing the decision a day later.[100]
He retired following a 3–1 defeat to AmericanDarin Young in the first round of the2020 World Championship,[101] a result he claimed he could "never forgive" himself for.[102]
On 23 September 2020, Van Barneveld announced his intention to compete in the2021 PDC Q-School, reversing his decision to retire.[6]
He qualified for the second phase of Q-School after winning through on points before securing his two year tour card on the last day finishing 3rd on the European Q-School Order of Merit.[103]
On 27 February, Van Barneveld won his first tournament after his comeback at just the third time of asking, at the Players Championship 3 in Bolton. His 8–6 victory overJoe Cullen in the final marked his first individual PDC title since the2014 Premier League, and first ranking title since 2013. Van Barneveld's run to the final included a 6–1 win againstDarius Labanauskas in the last 16, a 6–2 triumph overAlan Soutar at the quarter-final stage and a 7–3 victory in the semi-finals againstIan White.[104]
In his return to the big stage at the2022 World Championship, van Barneveld lost 3–1 toRob Cross in the second round.[105] At the2022 Grand Slam, van Barneveld reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual winner Michael Smith.[106]
At the2023 World Championship, van Barneveld won his opening game 3–1 againstRyan Meikle before being whitewashed 4–0 byGerwyn Price in the third round.[107]
At the2023 UK Open, van Barneveld was defeated 9–10 in the fourth round byRob Cross in a deciding leg.[108][109]
At the2024 World Championship, van Barneveld achieved wins overRadek Szagański andJim Williams, before losing 4–1 to eventual runner-upLuke Littler in the fourth round.[110][111][112]
At the2024 UK Open, van Barneveld was defeated 9–10 in the fourth round byLuke Woodhouse in a deciding leg.[113]
On 18 March 2024, on the2024 PDC Pro Tour, van Barneveld won his first players championship title since2021, winningPC5 atHildesheim. Van Barneveld defeatedOskar Lukasiak 6–1 in legs in the first round. In the second round he defeatedJermaine Wattimena 6–3. Van Barneveld followed that up with a 6–2 win against Graham Hall in the third round, before facingMichael Smith in the fourth round. Van Barneveld defeated Smith 6–3 despite Smith hitting anine-dart finish. He defeatedJames Hurrell 6–3 in the quarter-finals before a 7–6 victory overGary Anderson in the semi-finals, surviving match darts in a deciding leg. An 8–1 win overStephen Bunting in the final followed.[114][115]
At the2025 World Championship, Van Barneveld suffered a second round exit, losing 3–1 toNick Kenny.[116] Van Barneveld was granted permission by the PDC to participate in the Champion of Champions tournament organised by World Seniors Darts on 29 June, despite still being aTour Card holder.[117] He was eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual championRoss Montgomery.[118]
In 2012, Van Barneveld, together with the seven other players who competed in the2012 Premier League Darts recorded a charity single withChas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets for the Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released exclusively on iTunes on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single were donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.[119]In 2017, Van Barneveld featured in the song '180 linkerbaan' (180 left lane) by Dutch rapper Donnie (Donald Scloszkie).[120]
Van Barneveld lives in The Hague with his wife Julia. Previously, he was married to Sylvia for 25 years. They divorced in January 2019.[121] Raymond has three children: a son, William (born 1989) and daughters Daisy (born 1992) and Patty (born 1994). In October 2009, during theWorld Grand Prix tournament in Ireland, Van Barneveld revealed that he had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes that summer,[122] and that it can affect his vision if his blood sugar level is too high. He is a supporter ofADO Den Haag.
BDO[edit]
| PDC[edit]
|
| Legend |
|---|
| World Championship (4–2) |
| Winmau World Masters (2–1) |
| World Darts Trophy (2–0) |
| Zuiderduin Masters (3–0) |
| International Darts League (3–0) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1995 | World Championship |  Richie Burnett | 3–6 (s) |
| Winner | 1. | 1998 | World Championship(1) | Richie Burnett | 6–5 (s) |
| Winner | 2. | 1999 | World Championship(2) |  Ronnie Baxter | 6–5 (s) |
| Winner | 3. | 2001 | Winmau World Masters(1) |  Jarkko Komula | 4–2 (s) |
| Winner | 4. | 2001 | Zuiderduin Masters(1) | Andy Fordham | 5–1 (s) |
| Winner | 5. | 2003 | World Championship(3) | Ritchie Davies | 6–3 (s) |
| Winner | 6. | 2003 | International Darts League | Mervyn King | 8–5 (s) |
| Winner | 7. | 2003 | World Darts Trophy | Mervyn King | 6–2 (s) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2003 | Winmau World Masters(1) | Tony West | 6–7 (s) |
| Winner | 8. | 2003 | Zuiderduin Masters(2) | Mervyn King | 6–1 (s) |
| Winner | 9. | 2004 | International Darts League(2) |  Tony David | 13–5 (s) |
| Winner | 10. | 2004 | World Darts Trophy(2) | Martin Adams | 6–4 (s) |
| Winner | 11. | 2004 | Zuiderduin Masters(3) | Ted Hankey | 5–1 (s) |
| Winner | 12. | 2005 | World Championship(4) | Martin Adams | 6–2 (s) |
| Winner | 13. | 2005 | Winmau World Masters(2) |  Göran Klemme | 7–3 (s) |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2006 | World Championship(5) |  Jelle Klaasen | 5–7 (s) |
| Winner | 14. | 2006 | International Darts League(3) | Colin Lloyd | 13–5 (s) |
| Legend |
|---|
| World Championship (1–1) |
| World Matchplay (0–1) |
| World Grand Prix (0–2) |
| Grand Slam (1–0) |
| Premier League (1–0) |
| UK Open (2–0) |
| Masters (0–2) |
| Las Vegas Desert Classic (1–2) |
| US Open (0–1) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2006 | UK Open(1) | Barrie Bates | 13–7 (l) |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2006 | Las Vegas Desert Classic |  John Part | 3–6 (s) |
| Winner | 2. | 2007 | World Championship(1) | Phil Taylor | 7–6 (s) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2007 | US Open | Phil Taylor | 1–4 (s) |
| Winner | 3. | 2007 | UK Open(2) | Vincent van der Voort | 16–8 (l) |
| Winner | 4. | 2007 | Las Vegas Desert Classic(1) | Terry Jenkins | 13–6 (l) |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2008 | World Grand Prix | Phil Taylor | 2–6 (s) |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2009 | World Championship | Phil Taylor | 1–7 (s) |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2009 | Las Vegas Desert Classic | Phil Taylor | 11–13 (l) |
| Runner-up | 6. | 2009 | World Grand Prix | Phil Taylor | 3–6 (s) |
| Runner-up | 7. | 2010 | World Matchplay | Phil Taylor | 12–18 (l) |
| Winner | 5. | 2012 | Grand Slam(1) | Michael van Gerwen | 16–14 (l) |
| Winner | 6. | 2014 | Premier League | Michael van Gerwen | 10–6 (l) |
| Runner-up | 8. | 2015 | Masters | Michael van Gerwen | 6–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 9. | 2018 | Masters | Michael van Gerwen | 9–11 (l) |
| Legend |
|---|
| World Series of Darts (0–5) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2013 | Dubai Darts Masters | Michael van Gerwen | 7–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2015 | Auckland Darts Masters | Adrian Lewis | 10–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2017 | Perth Darts Masters |  Gary Anderson | 7–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2018 | Auckland Darts Masters | Michael van Gerwen | 4–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2019 | New Zealand Darts Masters | Michael van Gerwen | 1–8 (l) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2007 | Masters of Darts | Peter Manley | 7–0 (s) |
| Legend |
|---|
| World Cup (4–1) |
| World Pairs (1–0) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team | Teammate | Opponents in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1997 | World Pairs | withRoland Scholten | Richie Burnett andRod Harrington | 18–15 (l) | |
| Winner | 2. | 2007 | World Darts Challenge | with John Kuczynski | Phil Taylor and Ray Carver | 14–11 (l) | |
| Winner | 3. | 2010 | World Cup | Netherlands | Co Stompé | Wales –Mark Webster andBarrie Bates | 4–2 (p) |
| Winner | 4. | 2014 | Michael van Gerwen | England –Phil Taylor andAdrian Lewis | 3–0 (m) | ||
| Runner-up | 1. | 2016 | 2–3 (m) | ||||
| Winner | 5. | 2017 | Wales –Gerwyn Price andMark Webster | 3–1 (m) | |||
| Winner | 6. | 2018 | Scotland –Gary Anderson andPeter Wright | 3–1 (m) | |||
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDO World Championship | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | 2R | DNQ | F | 2R | 2R | W | W | 1R | QF | QF | W | SF | W | F | PDC |
| International Darts League | Not held | W | W | 2R | W | QF | ||||||||||||
| World Darts Trophy | Not held | SF | W | W | 2R | 1R | 1R | |||||||||||
| Winmau World Masters | 3R | 2R | RR | 2R | 4R | SF | 4R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 1R | W | 2R | F | 4R | W | PDC | |
| Zuiderduin Masters | Not held | SF | W | SF | W | W | QF | NH | PDC | |||||||||
| European Masters | Not held | SF | Not held | |||||||||||||||
WSD
| Tournament | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSD Televised events | |||||||||||||||||||
| World Seniors Champion of Champions | SF | ||||||||||||||||||
PDC European Tour[124]
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ADO SF | GDC QF | EDO W | GDM SF | DDM 2R | |||||||||
| 2013 | UKM 3R | EDT DNP | EDO 3R | ADO 3R | GDT DNP | GDC 1R | GDM 2R | DDM 2R | ||||||
| 2014 | GDC QF | DDM DNQ | GDM 1R | ADO DNQ | GDT DNQ | EDO 2R | EDG DNQ | EDT 2R | ||||||
| 2015 | Did not participate | EDT 1R | EDM 3R | EDG 3R | ||||||||||
| 2016 | Did not participate | EDG SF | GDC DNP | |||||||||||
| 2017 | GDC DNP | GDM QF | Did not participate | |||||||||||
| 2019 | EDO 1R | GDC DNQ | GDG DNP | GDO 3R | ADO 2R | EDG DNQ | DDM 3R | Did not participate | ||||||
| 2022 | IDO DNP | GDC DNQ | GDG 2R | Did not qualify | HDT 2R | GDO 2R | BDO DNQ | GDT DNQ | ||||||
| 2023 | BSD 1R | EDO 2R | IDO 2R | GDG 2R | ADO 2R | DDC 1R | BDO 2R | CDO DNQ | EDG 3R | EDM QF | DNQ | |||
| 2024 | BDO 1R | GDG 1R | IDO 1R | EDG 2R | ADO 2R | BSD 2R | DDC 1R | EDO 3R | GDC 1R | FDT 2R | HDT 2R | SDT QF | CDO 3R | |
| 2025 | BDO 2R | EDT 1R | IDO 3R | GDG 2R | ADO 1R | EDG 3R | DDC 2R | EDO 1R | BSD 1R | FDT 2R | CDO 1R | HDT 3R | SDT QF | GDC 2R |
PDC Players Championships[124]
In January 2009, in the quarter-finals of the2009 PDC World Darts Championship, Van Barneveld became the first player in professional darts to hit anine darter at the PDC World Darts Championship.
| Date | Opponent | Tournament | Method | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 2006 | Peter Manley | Premier League | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | |
| 2 January 2009 | Jelle Klaasen | PDC World Championship | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | £20,000 |
| 28 December 2009 |  Brendan Dolan | PDC World Championship | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | £25,000 |
| 29 April 2010 | Terry Jenkins | Premier League | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | |
| 17 July 2010 | Denis Ovens | World Matchplay | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | £5,000 |
| Average | Date | Opponent | Tournament | Stage | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 113.38 | 3 June 2018 |  Dimitri Van den Bergh | 2018 PDC World Cup of Darts | Semi-finals | 4–2 (l) |
| 113.04 | 20 September 2012 | Terry Jenkins | 2012 European Championship | Round 1 | 6–1 (l) |
| 112.28 | 5 April 2012 | Kevin Painter | 2012 Premier League | League | 8–6 (l) |
| 110.15 | 12 November 2016 | Nathan Aspinall | 2016 Grand Slam of Darts | Group stage | 5–1 (l) |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | PDC World Number One 1 January 2008 – 8 June 2008 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
