"Christmas doesn’t count for me this year, I have nothing to celebrate": Van Barneveld searching for answers after World Championship disappointment

The early exit of Raymond van Barneveld at the World Darts Championship has left deep scars. The 58-year-old from The Hague lost 3-0 to Stefan Bellmont in London and once again sees his tournament end prematurely. For Van Barneveld, the defeat feels like the painful conclusion to a season he himself describes as a failure. The verdict is harsh, but for him unavoidable: something has to change.

While most players look forward to the holidays at this time of year, Van Barneveld is facing a bleak Christmas. “Christmas doesn’t count for me this year. I have nothing to celebrate,” he told NU.nl. The defeat to Bellmont still lingers and underlines how far he has drifted from the standards he sets for himself.

Van Barneveld did not try to sugarcoat his loss. Although he felt he did not play badly, he acknowledged that his Swiss opponent exceeded expectations. “In the end, you don’t get anything for okay darts. I took two legs against the world number 111. When people open the paper, they’ll see that Van Barneveld was beaten 3-0.”

That harsh reality reflects the phase Van Barneveld is in. His World Championship exit, he says, symbolizes “another wasted year.” The five-time world champion started the season with ambition, played all the Pro Tours and traveled a lot, but saw his position on the world rankings slip further. The effort yielded little return.

After the defeat, voices were raised again advising Van Barneveld to retire. That is not a realistic scenario for him. Not because he still believes in easy success, but because there is no financial leeway. “I may have earned millions in prize money, but a lot went to the Tax Administration, a divorce, and travel expenses. I’ll have to keep going.”

For Van Barneveld, ‘keeping going’ does not mean simply carrying on as he is. He realizes his career can only be saved with a drastic course change. In recent years he tried various forms of guidance, from mental coaching to hypnotherapy and meditation. None of them brought him back to his old level on a consistent basis.

The man from The Hague now wants a different approach. Central to that is the search for a personal minder to direct him on a daily basis. “I’m looking for someone to motivate me, a taskmaster,” says Van Barneveld. “Someone who says: ‘Mr. Van Barneveld, you too need to work a proper day from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM like any other citizen. After that you can do what you like.’ I need structure in my life, also in training. That’s missing now.”

Finding self-discipline has been difficult for years. Van Barneveld is open about that. “For years I haven’t been able to give myself a kick up the backside.” Early in 2024 he expressed his desire to get fitter, because younger players had overtaken him physically. Those plans never really got off the ground.

“I’d like to lose weight and get fitter, but I’m a lazy so-and-so. Sometimes I sit on the couch for days scrolling on my phone and do nothing. I don’t even get up to go for a walk with headphones on. I need an inspirer to get me off the couch.”

Beyond physical guidance, Van Barneveld is above all looking for someone to keep him mentally in line. He sees how, during matches, he slips into patterns that harm rather than help him. “Multiple shafts, different flights, you wouldn’t believe what I’d thrown into my case. You drive yourself mad in advance. A minder would have said: ‘Pack that in, Ray.’”

The practical organization around matches also works against him. Van Barneveld cited the example of his match against Bellmont. “On the day of the match against Bellmont I was supposed to be picked up by a shuttle bus at 4:00 PM, but it didn’t arrive until 4:30 PM. I only had 2.5 hours to prepare instead of 3. Before I knew it, I had to get on stage. I started the match seriously wound up.”

In his view, a permanent minder would have intervened immediately. “I need a minder who would have told the hotel staff: ‘4:00 PM means 4:00 PM and then Van Barneveld goes to the venue.’ I’m looking for someone who’s there for me day and night to arrange everything and with whom I can share the highs and lows.”

Van Barneveld is realistic about how difficult that search will be. “I’m not the easiest after defeats, so that person has to be able to handle me.” The financial side also plays a role. “Such a person also needs to earn 2,000 to 4,000 euros a month. Try coughing up that money when you’re not winning much prize money yourself. I hope there are sponsors who can help.”

Retiring is not an option for now. Van Barneveld is determined to continue for at least two more years. “I’ve been shocked by my level for three years. But I’ll definitely keep going until I’m sixty,” he says. “Triple 20 then. That means I’ll play two more Worlds, unless I don’t qualify anymore. Then the fun ends quickly.”

He finds the prospect of spending the final years of his career on the fringes of the circuit intolerable. “Someone recently said to me, dead serious: ‘You’ve got nothing to lose, just enjoy the darts.’ That’s the dumbest thing you can say to me. Only winning counts. From now on, everything else has to make way for that,” Van Barneveld concludes.