"It’s hard that no one says, 'Oh Ray’s going to win this'" - No longer a favourite, but Raymond van Barneveld retains hope of 6th World Championship title

Raymond van Barneveld will start this year's World Darts Championship as the 32nd seed. The 57-year-old Dutchman therefore enters the tournament in the second round and takes on the winner of the duel between Stowe Buntz and Nick Kenny.

If Van Barneveld survives his first match, he will face Luke Humphries in the third round. “I can do a lot of damage and everyone knows that. I’m pretty sure if Luke meets me in the third round, he’s pretty sure that he needs to play a good game against me, otherwise I will maybe punish him. The whole world knows that, I know that, but it has to happen on that night," Van Barneveld told the Daily Record. “He knows what I can do, but he’s the one at the moment, he’s the best player. But, honestly, it doesn’t really matter if you get Michael van Gerwen first round, [Ricardo] Pietreczko or Martin Schindler or Gian van Veen. You know you always have to play your top game and that’s what I’m going to do and that’s what I’m going to prepare myself for.”

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Van Barneveld, last a world champion in 2007, realizes he is no longer counted among the favourites for the world title. “I’m not on the posters any more, you know. It’s hard that no one says, 'Oh Ray’s going to win this'," he admits. “We have to be realistic. I’m 57 years old, I came back after I retired. But in my head, anything is still possible. I know if I win my first round and Luke Humphries wins his first round, we meet already quite soon in the championship, but if you’re strong enough in your head and you work hard and you believe that you can do this, I wouldn’t be surprised if I can give Luke a good game or maybe even beat him."

Raymond van Barneveld in action

Van Barneveld, of course, can count on a wealth of experience. “The experience is important, but even to me, after 40 years of darts, it’s still different because I notice your body is every day different," he says. “So then you try to think what’s going on, but start thinking in darts, it’s deadly. You have to go along with it and just focus on the board, on the triples and the doubles and believe you can do anything when you can and I can do a lot.”

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Despite all those years of experience, Van Barneveld is still itching to start the World Championship. “I can’t wait, this is always the special one," the legendary Dutchman concludes. "The world championship is what every dart player wants to win. Being a world champion, as I know for myself, you are somebody. That’s what every dart player dreams of.”

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