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RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD recognizes that it’s “difficult” to no longer be considered a frontrunner for the World Darts Championship.
The five-time world champion has experienced a drop in his ranking over the past few years, with his most recent appearance in a major final occurring in 2018 at the Masters.
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Despite this, Barney remains confident in his ability to compete with anyone, even with world number one Luke Humphries potentially standing in his way in the third round.
However, Van Barneveld struggles with the fact that he is no longer regarded as a serious championship contender.
In an interview with the Daily Record, he stated: “I’m not included on the promotional posters anymore. It’s tough when nobody says, ‘Oh, Ray’s going to win this.”
“We have to accept the reality. I’m 57 years old and returned to the sport after retiring. Nonetheless, in my mind, everything is still possible.
“If I win my first match and Humphries claims victory in his opener, we’ll face off early in the championship. If you’re mentally tough and you put in the work, believing you can achieve it, I would not be surprised if I can give Luke a challenging time, or even win.”
Van Barneveld last lifted the World Darts Championship in 2007, marking the year he also last won a PDC event, with victories in the UK Open and the Dessert Classic.
Nonetheless, he continues to be active on the Tour, most recently reaching the fourth round at Ally Pally before losing to runner-up Luke Littler.
Van Barneveld firmly believes he can still compete with the top players, extending a challenge to potential opponent Humphries.
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Complete Draw for the Darts World Championship
Second round draw (seeded vs first-round winner)
- Luke Humphries vs Thibault Tricole or Joe Comito
- Raymond van Barneveld vs Nick Kenny or Stowe Buntz
- James Wade vs Jermaine Wattimena or Stefan Bellmont
- Peter Wright vs Wesley Plaisier or Ryusei Azemoto
- Stephen Bunting vs Alan Soutar or Kai Gotthardt
- Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Madars Ramza or Christian Kist
- Damon Heta vs Connor Scutt or Ben Robb
- Mike De Decker vs Luke Woodhouse or Lourence Ilagan
- Luke Littler vs Ryan Meikle or Fallon Sherrock
- Ritchie Edhouse vs Ian White or Sandro Eric Sosing
- Danny Noppert vs Ryan Joyce or Darius Labanauskas
- Ryan Searle vs Mensur Suljovic or Matt Campbell
- Rob Cross vs Scott Williams or Niko Springer
- Gian van Veen vs Ricardo Pietreczko or Xiaochen Zong
- Nathan Aspinall vs Cameron Menzies or Leonard Gates
- Andrew Gilding vs Martin Lukeman or Nitin Kumar
- Michael Smith vs Kevin Doets or Noa-Lynn van Leuven
- Krzysztof Ratajski vs Richard Veenstra or Alexis Toylo
- Chris Dobey vs Stephen Burton or Alexander Merkx
- Josh Rock vs Karel Sedlacek or Rhys Griffin
- Jonny Clayton vs Mickey Mansell or Tomoya Goto
- Daryl Gurney vs Florian Hempel or Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Gerwyn Price vs Kim Huybrechts or Keane Barry
- Joe Cullen vs Wessel Nijman or Cameron Carolissen
- Michael van Gerwen vs James Hurrell or Jim Long
- Brendan Dolan vs Chris Landman or Lok Yin Lee
- Gary Anderson vs Jeffrey de Graaf or Rashad Sweeting
- Ross Smith vs Jim Williams or Paolo Nebrida
- Dave Chisnall vs Ricky Evans or Gordon Mathers
- Gabriel Clemens vs Niels Zonneveld or Robert Owen
- Dimitri Van den Bergh vs William O’Connor or Dylan Slevin
- Martin Schindler vs Callan Rydz or Romeo Grbavac
He emphasized: “I can cause significant disruption, and everyone knows this. I’m confident that if Luke faces me in the third round, he’ll need to perform exceptionally well, or I might take advantage of his mistakes.
“The world is aware of my capabilities, as am I, but it must all come together on that specific night.
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“He understands my potential, but right now, he is the top player. Yet, it truly doesn’t matter whether I encounter Michael van Gerwen in the first round, [Ricardo] Pietreczko, Martin Schindler, or Gian van Veen.
“The point is clear: you must always perform your best, and that is exactly what I aim to do and prepare for.”
