“I don’t think they’re going to make it” – Major doubt over World Championship chances of Raymond van Barneveld and Dimitri van den Bergh

With only a limited number of ranking tournaments left on the calendar, the pressure is mounting on several familiar names in professional darts. In the Darts Draait Door podcast, Vincent van der Voort and Damian Vlottes discussed the worrying position of three former World Championship standouts: Raymond van Barneveld, Dimitri Van den Bergh, and Scott Williams. All three currently sit outside the qualifying spots for the PDC World Darts Championship, and according to Van der Voort, it will be an uphill battle to put that right.

There is no doubt we are talking about big names. Van Barneveld has even won the World Championship in the past, while both Van den Bergh and Williams reached the semi-finals of the Worlds in recent years. Still, past results are no guarantee for the future.

“Van den Bergh is of course also a semi-finalist. Scott Williams is a semi-finalist. All not that long ago,” said Van der Voort. “And yes, they’re really struggling at the moment.”

Of the three discussed players, Dimitri Van den Bergh appears to have the biggest problem, according to the former pro. The Belgian still has the quality to win big matches, but has long struggled to show that form consistently on the floor tournaments where the crucial ranking points are on offer. “The chance that Dimitri is going to make it, to be honest, isn’t very big,” Van der Voort stated.

He believes the issue lies less with the talent of the former UK Open champion and more with a lack of confidence and consistency.

“We saw it at the World Cup. There’s definitely still something there. Only the confidence is very fragile. So it can collapse again at any moment. It can also be that at any moment you think: maybe it’s turning the right way again.”

Yet Van der Voort sees a structural problem that has been around for years. “Over the years it’s become clear that he just finds ProTours very difficult. And that’s exactly where it has to happen now.”

That’s precisely what makes the task so tough. The bulk of ranking points in the coming months will be earned at Players Championships and qualifiers. In recent seasons, Van den Bergh has rarely produced his best level there.

Damian Vlottes also pointed to the deficit the Belgian has built up on the ProTour Order of Merit. At the time of writing, Van den Bergh sits 56th, while a top-forty spot is needed to keep World Championship prospects alive via that route. “That’s just really a lot,” said Vlottes about the gap. Van der Voort agreed: “For him you have to fear even more, of course.”

While Van den Bergh mainly struggles with form and confidence, the concerns surrounding Raymond van Barneveld now seem more structural in nature. The five-time world champion has shown in recent years that on his day he can still beat top players, but the consistent results needed to secure a World Championship ticket have been lacking.

Van der Voort also sees little indication of a major turnaround in the short term. “I don’t know exactly how far behind he is. But it’s not like there’s anything to hold on to that suggests it’s going to get much better soon.”

Van Barneveld also appears to be deliberately taking a bit of a breather at the moment. That doesn’t make the situation any easier. “Raymond is taking a bit of rest now. I don’t know if he played the last two tournaments. With him you’re never quite sure. But something needs to happen, of course.”

According to Van der Voort, the main difficulty is that there are fewer and fewer opportunities left to bank enough prize money. “You’ve already had more than twenty ProTours. There are only about ten, twelve to go. A few more Euro Tours. Everything has to happen in those.”

On top of that, Van Barneveld is not seeded for many of the major TV events. Those are typically where the biggest sums are available. “In the autumn there aren’t that many tournaments left where you can do it. There are many TV tournaments, but you’re not seeded for those. So where are you going to do it?”

Scott Williams also finds himself in a worrying position, according to the podcasters. A few years ago, the Englishman impressed with his uninhibited style and even reached the semi-finals of the Worlds. His situation now, however, is completely different.

Van der Voort believes Williams has been hampered by dartitis, the condition where players struggle to release the dart. “He’s had a bit of dartitis. Maybe still does.”

For many, that came as a surprise with Williams. “You’d think: he definitely wouldn’t get it,” noted Vlottes. Van der Voort explained why: “You often see that when people do more with their dart, turning it or making odd movements, that’s when you get it. But he had such a lovely throw.”

The Dutchman feels Williams may have played his best darts in the period when he didn’t have a Tour Card. “I thought he was at his best that year he didn’t have a Tour Card. He even won a ProTour then. He was really that good.”

That free feeling seems to have vanished. “Back then he could play everything. That seemed to suit him better than this.” Van der Voort also sees a clear difference between stage and floor. “I find him better on stage than on the floor.”

Ultimately, Vlottes posed the question many darts fans are wondering about: which of the three will qualify for the Worlds? Van der Voort didn’t need long to answer and offered a crystal-clear prediction. “I think all three won’t make the Worlds. Not via the rankings, anyway.”

That doesn’t rule out alternative qualification routes. Later in the year, players can still book their place at Alexandra Palace via the PDPA Qualifier. “We also talked about that PDPA Qualifier. That’s three wins in one day. All three of them can do that.”

Still, his overall conclusion is clear: the standard route to the Worlds seems to be slipping further out of reach for Van Barneveld, Van den Bergh, and Williams.