"Don’t bite the hand that feeds, don’t think they’ll sit well with Matt Porter": Chris Mason worried about Raymond van Barneveld's future amid qualifier decision

The recent choices made by Raymond van Barneveld are raising questions within the darts world. According to former professional darter and analyst Chris Mason, skipping key qualifiers for ranking events could have major consequences for the Dutchman’s sporting future.

In a conversation with Online Darts, Mason openly expressed doubts about the course Van Barneveld is currently taking, especially now that his position on the world rankings is under pressure. Van Barneveld recently chose to skip a qualifier for a major ranking event to play exhibitions elsewhere — a decision Mason finds hard to fathom, particularly given the current situation of the five-time world champion.

“Possibly. Mentally, he may have sort of accepted,” Mason said. “But I think, again, it’s what you do with your legacy. Surely you want to say goodbye properly. The last goodbye wasn’t really goodbye.”

According to the 56-year-old Englishman, the timing of Van Barneveld skipping important tournaments is striking, because he still has sporting chances to qualify for major events.

“Missing a tournament of this magnitude when you’re not far off being in the Matchplay,” he said.

Mason believes Van Barneveld could have put himself in a better position with a relatively short run of wins.

“In some cases, he might have only had to win three games depending on the draw. Three games, tops — 64, 32… Yeah, that’s bizarre, isn’t it?”

The former darter openly wonders how Van Barneveld intends to qualify for major events in the coming months. With limited ranking income and missed qualifiers, that path is becoming increasingly difficult.

“So he’s got to earn money on the ProTour. Yeah, we may not see him in anything. I mean, does he come through a Euro Tour qualifier? No. Host? No, he can’t.”

Mason paints a bleak scenario if the current approach continues. In his view, participation in several major events is far from certain.

“Does he get to play his championship finals? Right now, you’d say no. Not in the Slam, is he? Not in the Slam. At the moment, it’s only the UK Open. Oh yeah, of course, because everybody gets in it.”

For a player with Van Barneveld’s status and résumé, Mason finds that an unusual situation.

“Listen, if I’d won as many World titles as him and everything else he’s won in between it, I wouldn’t be going to an exhibition when there’s a major TV tournament on the horizon that I could qualify for.”

Mason also points to possible consequences outside the ranking circuit. He says the PDC closely monitors the choices players make.

“Don’t expect the PDC to invite you to a World Series event, pal. And this is how they work, mate. It’s all about loyalty and backward and forward. Don’t bite the hand that feeds.”

Although Mason believes that Van Barneveld may still be selected for certain events, he warns that passing up qualification opportunities will not go unnoticed.

“They will put him in, but certainly if you’re turning down big opportunities in terms of qualifying for tournaments and just tossing them off for an exhibition, yeah, I don’t think they’ll sit well with Matt Porter, that’s for sure.”