"I don’t know… I’m an old man" - Raymond van Barneveld puts his old age as a setback when competing on the oche

Raymond van Barneveld was not impressed with his showing against host-nation qualifier Kevin Troppmann despite defeating the German 6-3 in the first round of the German Darts Championship.

It was a clinical start for the Dutchman who took out 108 to break the throw. He backed that up with a hold on tops prior to Troppmann taking out 82 in three to get his first leg on the board. He continued to fight back at Barney, levelling up proceedings after the five-time World Champion squandered numerous attempts at double, and went on to snatch the lead away for the first time this match.

He would not win another leg though, as van Barneveld stormed back in front and raced to victory. It was not a great performance from Barney, who could only muster up an 85.7 average and missed 11 darts at double. He put this down to long hours on the road, but cited improvement ahead of a tough tie against Jonny Clayton in round-two.

" I’ve never been home since September 24th — three and a half weeks on the spin — and it takes its toll. I’m tired," van Barneveld said after the match. "I’ve been practising well, but not one 180 tonight and it was a really poor game. I missed six darts to go 3–2 up, then I lost that leg and let him back into the game. I was thinking, 'What is this?' I felt good, I felt comfortable, I wasn’t nervous — but I just couldn’t figure it out. I’m happy with the win, of course, but tomorrow against Johnny Clayton has to be much better than this. I don’t know… I’m an old man."

Van Barneveld stated that his age is holding him back from competing with the best. He revealed that the travelling is harder to cope with and that he becomes more tired from it. The 58-year-old will face off against The Ferret in the second match of the evening session, as he looks to confirm his spot for the European Championships.

"He’s a quality player — he reached the semi-finals of the Grand Prix last week," van Barneveld said. "He’s an amazing player, but I’m not scared. Tomorrow I’ll be there. This form tonight — it’s not going to last two days. I don’t know — I ate well, I rested — but all the travelling, the aeroplanes and everything, it makes you tired. I’m not the youngest anymore. I’m 58 now, and for a 50-year-old guy, it’s hard."

He also went on to apologise for the walk on. "And sorry for the walk-on — I didn’t sign the things. At the Grand Prix, there was a gap there and I fell down, so it’s been hard for me. I nearly got injured there. But tomorrow I’ll come back — it’s fine."