"Barney comes in, taps me on the shoulder, can I have a word?" – Kenny received a visit from Van Barneveld right before a crucial World Championship match
Nick Kenny will not soon forget his clash with Raymond van Barneveld at the World Darts Championship in 2025. For the Welshman, far more was at stake than a place in the third round. Kenny needed wins to keep his Tour Card and happened to face a player he once watched growing up. In the end, he called it the most important win of his career.
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Kenny opened his Worlds with a 3-0 win in sets over American Stowe Buntz. Van Barneveld awaited next. In the build-up, Kenny found extra motivation from an interview with the five-time world champion.
"So I always get the venue at the Ally Pally because you do it four hours before, maybe even a bit more. And I can remember when I did my interview after Buntz, I'd seen an interview that Barney had done with Phill Barrs. And he basically disregarded me and Stowe Buntz and was looking at playing Humphries in round three," said Kenny on Tops and Tales.
"So after I'd beaten him, I was like, well, Barney thinks he's in round three already. So I'm like, I sort of mentioned it. You know, it's just in the heat of the moment.
"I'm sat there with a group of friends, Barney comes in, taps me on the shoulder, can I have a word? And I was like, yeah, no worries. I'd never said that. I said, I've seen the clip, you've said that. Like I said, what do you want me to say? It was just like, just disregarded your game because he was the seed then when he was 96. And it didn't end in a spat or anything. I just said, oh, okay, all the best today. And that was it."
“I could see he was rattled”
Kenny then started the match with confidence. At the same time, he knew that Van Barneveld at his best would be a formidable opponent. "If Barney turns up and plays his A game, I'm in trouble. There's no doubt about it."
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His main task was to control his emotions. "I just thought, keep your composure because I kept composed for the whole game. Don't let out too much steam because I'm not one for giving it big on, but I think you waste energy really when you do that."
As the match wore on, Kenny sensed the pressure shifting to his Dutch opponent. During a break he saw Van Barneveld tinkering with his setup.
"I don't think on one set up, was it 2-0 up? Maybe 2-0 up. And I could see he rattled. He's swapping his flights. He's swapping his stems. That's what I can remember about it."
Van Barneveld pulled a set back and Kenny felt the tie could still turn. "I thought, if this goes to 2-0, I could be in trouble. But yeah, because he's going to have the momentum. And I'm missing darts."
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At the 2025 World Darts Championship, Nick Kenny shocked Raymond van Barneveld
Huge release
The decisive moment came when Kenny left 61 after 12 darts, with Van Barneveld a long way back. Even then, the Welshman did not make it easy on himself.
"And obviously I miss one at 16. So then three at 16. And I get out last at double four. And my heart at that point was like, oh my God, you can't waste this opportunity."
The crowd added to the pressure. As so often, Alexandra Palace was firmly behind Barney. "The crowd are on my back. They're going Barney Army. They're not whistling, but they're booing and jeering. And woo, all that. And like, I've never been in that experience before."
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Kenny kept his nerve and found double four. What followed was an exuberant celebration he now smiles about as “cringy and epic”. "But the release the other way, where I'm ecstatic really."
Tour Card not immediately secure
Remarkably, Kenny still wasn’t entirely sure he had actually kept his Tour Card at that moment. He initially finished 65th and depended partly on Steve Beaton’s future plans.
"And the thing is, it wasn't guaranteed. Steve Beaton was hearsay to be retiring. So if he hadn't retired, I finished 65th.
"If he didn't pack it in and I didn't go up to 64th, I would have been off. But then there was another one who, I think Rob Owen saved his skin as well."
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Other Worlds results also affected the ranking. In the end, everything fell Kenny’s way and he could finally breathe easy.
The financial leap he made in that period then gave him a far better platform. Kenny says he earned about £58,000 for the ranking that year, compared with just £13,000 in his first year. He had already covered the amount to defend by around March of the following season.
The situation has since shifted again and Kenny must dig in once more to secure his place on the PDC Tour. "So I ended up winning about the same amount of money getting to Ally Pally, having a bit of bad luck with a draw, I suppose, with Justin, the way he played and the way he went on, but fair play to him. And now I'm back to square one. Now I've got to try and defend my card again, like everyone else."
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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