Recently, we’ve had the honor of speaking with Raymond van Barneveld, better known as ‘Barney’, five-time world darts champion, who was so kind to agree to be interviewed by the Romanian local news portal https://www.sursesiresurse.ro
The first person to finish with nine darts in both the 2006 Premier League and the 2009 PDC World Championships is none other than Raymond van Barneveld, one of the greatest darts players in history. One of just three players in darts history to win five World Championship titles is ‘Barney,’ the former World No. 1 player.
‘Barney’ has seen the world and acquired nearly everything at his disposal. Besides being the five-time world darts champion, ‘Barney’ also won the 2012 Grand Slam, the 2014 Premier League, the UK Open twice, the World Cup twice, and the Players Championship nine times. One of the most gifted and intriguing darts players of all time, Raymond van Barneveld’s name is inscribed on some of the largest trophies in the world. His name will undoubtedly go down in history.
Surse și Resurse: Mr. Barneveld, congrats on your victory in Players Championship 5 (PC5) in Hildesheim. This is one huge step in securing your qualification for the World Championship. What were the first impressions after the victory?
Raymond van Barneveld: I was very happy, of course. After a win, you always feel amazing and you know you are on the right course to maybe get better. The confidence is back in my head.
SSR: During the last few months, the darts game has seen again a huge popularity comeback. Knowing that The Netherlands is a large source of darts champions, can you please give us some tipping points on how the local darts nurseries around the world, including Romania (where, by the way, a lot of Dutch colleagues played/are playing), should guide their talents? Should we start in school, as an extra-curricular activity?
RVB: Well, first of all, if you want to achieve anything, you have to work very hard, believe in yourself, and travel a lot. You must make a plan with yourself for where you wanna be from now and in five years. Coaching is very important and also watching a lot of darts matches from where you can learn a lot, like I did. I always hoped that retired dart players could give lessons, but I don’t think that there is much money for this, I am afraid. An ideal world would be like this: – teaching talented players all over the world.
SSR: Lately, we’ve seen huge developments in the three-dart average and overall average. The PDC/WDF tournaments stand as proof. Is it just practice behind all that? Or do the newer technologies behind the flights/shafts/barrels have something to say? We’ve seen that longer Swiss points could make the difference…
RVB: Longer points give you more space for the next darts, this is true, but I can’t play with a longer point so it’s only for players who can. The top-eight players in the world are still playing with traditional flights and shafts and this says a lot about this.
SSR: Besides Bengi, Iq Select, Toto, and Target, we’ve seen recently a new partner behind you – Tummers Food Processing Solutions. How important is a partner like that for a professional darts player? We’ve encountered good darts players in the local countries’ leagues constantly looking for sponsors. Darts is quite expensive when it goes international.
RVB: Sponsorship is so important! As a professional darts player, you must cover travel expenses, and have access to resources to pay for food, drinks, hotels, cafes, and taxi rides; without them, a career is simply impossible. TV is so important for this. If people see you on TV often and you are becoming popular, sponsors will come and support you. As I said, without TV [access to sponsorships] is impossible; maybe one will only have access to one or two local sponsors.
SSR: We know that this may appear a sensitive subject, but we cannot turn a blind eye to the Littler phenomena. The latest games revealed that experience counts in the biggest games. And by experience, we mean the good adulthood years behind the oche. Based on your experience, it is good to have such young talents on PDC? Should we wait for a proper admission age?
RVB: Well, we saw Boris Becker winning Wimbledon at age 17. Littler is now also 17 and an amazing player. With a great future, it’s up to him if he can continue this run. In the PDC many amazing players can beat him. 16 is a bit young, but the rules say he was eligible to play.
SSR: Darts Romania is one of the many Thursday League amateur darts teams in Romania. We play for fun, we play for points, and for the love of darts. We have both young, promising players, and more experienced ones. For us and all the other teams in Romania and all around the world, please give us some valuable advice and encouragement.
RVB: Work hard, practice, find sponsors, and play as many tournaments as you can, and then you become better. Invest in yourself and, most of all, make a plan for the future and believe in it!
