"I think he hasn't wanted it for a couple of years, but that it's a financial must" van der Voort about van Barneveld

The 2025 PDC World Darts Championship turned into a huge disappointment for Raymond van Barneveld. The five-time world champion suffered a surprising defeat on Saturday night against Nick Kenny (3-1) in the second round of the tournament in London.

Fellow Dutch darter Vincent van der Voort was surprised by his compatriot's poor performance. ''It wasn't there for a moment," said 'Fast Vinnie' in his podcast WK Darts Draait Door. "He didn't exude much. Also not really that you saw that he was fighting or whatever. It was really very mediocre. I really didn't expect that."

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"Generally, he prepares really top-notch for a match at the World Championship and it's hard to win against him. Then he really goes for it one hundred percent. But the Raymond we normally know was nowhere to be seen," Van der Voort continued.

The Dutchman was also not impressed with what Kenny showed. "Kenny wasn't good at all either," Van der Voort continued. "He had plenty of chances, but it just wasn't right for Raymond. Little energy and you could see from everything that he was just not comfortable in his skin. Of course, it could be that there was something more going on. He could be suffering from the flu, which makes you feel less good. That all remains speculation, I don't know."

"It really surprised me, I haven't often seen Raymond play so badly during a World Championship. I can imagine that this one does hit him really hard. You spend all year trying to qualify for the Majors and almost everywhere you go out in the first round. At some point you think: is this it? Just yes, what are his options?"

Van der Voort thinks Van Barneveld is only leaving the darts circuit for financial reasons. "I think he hasn't wanted it for a couple of years," Van der Voort stated. "But that it's a financial must. He has to continue. It's not like he can stop and retire. That is painful, but life is expensive and divorce is expensive. That doesn't go to your head. It's unfortunate, because now his career is going to end a bit like a fizzle. At some point people only remember these years and that's kind of a shame for a great champion."

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