Raymond van Barneveld enjoys day out with wife to celebrate special anniversary

Raymond van Barneveld has been struggling as of late on the oche, not finding many positive results with the joy not being found in the sport he was once on top of. However, from the oche there jubilant scenes after celebrating his three-year wedding anniversary with his wife, Julia.

Turning away from darts for the time being, van Barneveld has vowed that he will spend less time competing for the time being as he searches for that spark to return, hoping that winning form can follow.

Putting that darting woes away, he managed to celebrate the very special occasion. Van Barneveld has known Julia since 2018. In 2020, he picked ‘the city of love’ to propose to his then-girlfriend, asking the question underneath the Eiffel Tower. They would get married a year later in Cyprus.

He described the events of that day in an Instagram post. First they went for a lovely meal in Manchester where the staff were all very nice and congratulative surrounding the celebrations.

They would embark on a spot of shopping before taking a trip to the cinema to watch The Mandalorian. Choosing not to follow his fellow countrymen Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen compete for the World Cup of Darts title, he opted to focus all his attention on his other half in a very special day out.

Julia has been there to support van Barneveld through the tough times that he has experienced in recent times. Since returning to the sport in 2021 after a brief retirement, there have been glimpses of his past self. A couple Players Championship titles and a run to the semi-finals of the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts have been the highlights, but in recent times these feats have not been replicated.

The five-time world champion is in serious danger of missing out on a number of major tournaments this year. Already the World Matchplay and the World grand Prix are off the cards. He is also in danger of not qualifying for the Players Championship Finals and possibly even the PDC World Darts Championship at the end of the year.

He sits 117th in the Players Championship Order of Merit with a measly £8,750 to his name. Over £10,000 away from the top 64, there is work to do. With just two wins from his prior nine floor tournaments, the form is just not there at the moment.

It gets worse on the European Tour. He is yet to pick up a win and is nowhere near the level needed to reach Dortmund. All of this is chances of ranking money being thrown away as other tournaments lack desperately the funds needed to qualify.

Having recently moved to Milton Keynes in the UK, he will be hoping that the less travelling will pay dividends and help him get to the ‘Barney’ that everyone remembers from the past, winning major titles and competing with the best players in the world.