“I’m in Luke Littler’s section again, am I?” - Raymond Van Barneveld jokes after the World Darts Championship draw is announced

Raymond van Barneveld has reacted to the announcement of his World Darts Championship draw — and even through lingering flu symptoms, the five-time world champion still found room for a joke at his own expense.

Speaking to Viaplay, the 58-year-old admitted he was still feeling the effects of the illness that hampered him during the Players Championship Finals. “I had a really bad flu in Minehead, it was awful,” he said. “I simply didn’t have the energy to produce anything decent. In the end it was just a case of collecting the prize money and getting home as quickly as possible.”

His first-round opponent will be Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont, a player Van Barneveld knows reasonably well. “He’s a good player,” he said. “He did well on the Challenge Tour, didn’t he?” After the studio confirmed Bellmont had won that circuit, Barney expanded on his assessment.

“That means you play a fair number of Pro Tour events,” he explained. “He’s a slow player. I watched him a bit at the Grand Slam last week. I wasn’t hugely impressed, but he did reasonably well. I think he’s capable of more. That last group match wasn’t great, but he’s still a strong opponent and definitely not someone to take lightly.”

With Damon Heta or Steve Lennon potentially waiting in round two, and then names such as Rob Cross, Cor Dekker, Ian White or Mervyn King beyond that, the studio panel argued that Van Barneveld could go deep at Ally Pally if he plays to his level. “Nothing is easy at a World Championship,” they noted, “but it could have been far tougher.”

Barney, however, was already looking one step further — and instantly spotted the biggest name lurking further down his path. “I’m in Mr Littler’s section as well, I assume?” he joked, prompting mock surprise from the pundits who claimed to have “missed that part of the draw”.

Van Barneveld also addressed his current condition, after the studio teased that he was ill during last year’s tournament too. “Well, I hope this is it now,” he said. “Last year I was sick for two months after the Worlds and that really wasn’t pleasant. But we’ll give it everything again. I’ll do my best.”