PDC Director Matt Porter pays tribute to Raymond van Barneveld

Van Barneveld, a five-time world champion, announced that he would call it a day after the 2020 PDC World Championship. His introduction to the PDC more than a decade ago proved a turning point in the organisation's history. And Porter, on behalf of the PDC's top echelon, paid tribute to the Dutch legend in an RTL7 interview.
"It's a shame," Porter said on Barney's impending retirement.
"Everybody loves Raymond - he's such a popular player, such a famous player, such a successful player.
"He's won almost everything the game has to offer and he's decided now is the time to step away - good luck to him."
Van Barneveld's exit from the game closely follows the darting demise of 16-time world champion Phil Taylor. The pair had a monumental effect on the game, but Porter believes the PDC is now strong enough to survive life after both players.
"Everybody has their day, and there's players coming up behind them now," Porter pointed out.
"Maybe ten years ago the sport wouldn't have been strong enough to stand on its own two feet without its superstars, but now there's more superstars.
"It's PDC version two, I suppose!"

Porter refuted any idea of van Barneveld being guaranteed invites to the likes of the Premier League, but did admit that a player of his immense popularity and cache as a multiple-time major winner has a head-start when selection time comes around. "There's no guarantees given to players. "Players are selected on their merits. Raymond is a five-time world champion, so he has a lot of merits. Because of his popularity, some things go in his favour. "Don't forget, he's still playing at an elite level."