Raymond van Barneveld reflects on Masters final defeat

Raymond van Barneveld fell just short of winning his first Masters title.

The now two-time runner-up lost 11-8 to Michael van Gerwen in the final. The Dutchman overcame Dave Chisnall, Peter Wright and Mensur Suljovic to reach the final in Milton Keynes. He twice held three-leg leads over van Gerwen, but succumbed to his younger compatriot's superior scoring. A 100 average was still a decent return at the end of a positive weekend for Barney.
"I'm really happy to reach the final. It's good to be in the final, and that has given me confidence," the five-time world champion said.
"I had a hard game against Dave on Friday and today was a really long day for me. I played really well against Peter Wright but against Mensur I never felt great, and the final was alright."
Van Barneveld had plenty of kind words to say about his opponent, and World Cup of Darts partner.
"I played a good game in the final but I had too many scores of 100 instead of 140s, and Michael was awesome tonight. He was firing some top class darts at the end - his 124 turned the game.
"He's the world number one and it's so hard to beat this man. He never has a bad night, not against me, but hopefully one day it will turn my way," he said.
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