''When I was 16, I was still playing with Playmobil'': Raymond van Barneveld hopes for clash with 16-year-old prodigy Luke Littler
PDCFriday, 29 December 2023 at 09:00
A clash with 16-year-old Luke Littler beckons for Raymond van Barneveld at the World Darts Championship. But it is not that far yet, because first 'Barney' still has to face Jim Williams in the third round.
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Still, the press is already looking ahead to a possible meeting between the five-time world champion and the reigning junior world champion at the PDC. ''I enjoy that boy. Really formidable,'' Van Barneveld spoke full of admiration for Littler. ''He's 16 years old. When I was 16, I was still playing with Playmobil, haha! I have huge respect for that little guy and I can't wait to play against him."
But Van Barneveld, according to himself, is also careful not to look too far ahead. ''I don't underestimate Jim Williams at all and I don't think it's respectful to Jim Williams if we only talk about Luke Littler. Of course I know that I will possibly get Littler, but Jim is a fantastic player so I don't want to look beyond that yet.''
Leading up to the meeting with Williams, Van Barneveld will make full use of the facilities offered by the TOTO Dart Kings, the Dutch darts team of which Van Barneveld is a member.
In a specially equipped room, Van Barneveld can put in his practice hours and it's going pretty well. ''The 140's and 180's are going in during practice,'' stated the 56-year-old Hague native, who is extremely happy with the set of darts that his sponsor Target made for him.
''Faith is not 100 percent, faith is 1,000 percent. I'm standing here doing things.... The word 'losing' hasn't occurred to me in the last few weeks. That's really been a long time. I'm not going to say I'm going to lift that cup, that's just not appropriate, but I feel completely insane. A Van Barneveld in form, where things are right in his head, can go far here. Whether they're called Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith or whatever. That doesn't matter to me then. I play against the board, not against the opponents,'' Van Barneveld said.
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Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
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- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
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