Van Barneveld wants to qualify for World Championship in last season: 'One option left and that's playing as much as possible'

In his final season on the PDC Tour, Raymond van Barneveld is aiming to qualify for the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship. After an early exit to Darius Labanauskas at the 2019 World Championship, 'Barney' dropped out of the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit.

Van Barneveld currently sits on the 28th place on the world ranking, meaning his seeding for this years World Championship is in danger. Only the 32 best darts players in the world are automatically qualified for PDC's showpiece event in Alexandra Palace. ''We had a month to recover and normally it takes me a while to do so. It hurts when you lose to someone from Lithuania in the second round'', the Dutch legend told . To keep his position in the top 32, Van Barneveld needs to play floor events this year. This is the only way for the 51-year-old Dutchman to qualify for the big major events. ''There is only one option left and that is playing as much as possible'', he realises. ''My goal is to qualify for the World Championship and of course I would prefer to win it as well.'' ''Everyone knows how much the World Championship means for me. Probably more then for anyone else. Sometimes I'm afraid that I have lost the trick, but we will find that out this year. I'm always honest, critical to myself, but it would be nice if all pieces fall into place in my favour for once.''