"They say: ‘Yeah, I was watching, too, but 100 euros, sir": Raymond van Barneveld uses supermarket analogy in how role in darting development isn't a free pass

Prize money in international darts will reach a historic level next season. For the first time at the World Darts Championship there is a check of one million pounds waiting for the world champion. For Raymond van Barneveld, that record amount comes as no surprise. According to the darts pioneer from The Hague, this development already started 20 years ago, during the first talks about his move from the BDO to the PDC.

Van Barneveld, now 58 and active on his 33rd World Championship, looks back to the moment when former PDC boss Barry Hearn first approached him. "Barry always told me in the first negotiations to get me from the BDO to the PDC. "I admire the man’s future vision. He said one day a darts player will earn a million pounds. And he kept his promise.

The five-time world champion sees the current financial explosion as the result of decades of growth. He says the development of the sport has been built on the achievements of several generations of top darters. "We all did our part. Phil Taylor, me, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries at the moment, Gerwyn Price. But now it's going to be insane. You know, a million pounds," he said to The Sun.

That amount now raises eyebrows outside of darts, according to the Hague native. “I think many other sportsmen in different sports are really like: Wow!

Nor does he think that any winner would take this prize money to quit immediately. “Some people may say, if I win this, I will stop. But no-one will do that because then you get invited into the Premier League. You get invited to the other World Series events. So more money is there for grabs."

Although Van Barneveld was one of the big earners of his time, his own prize money pales in comparison to the sums now circulating. For his world title in 2007 - after the legendary final against Phil Taylor - he received 100,000 pounds.

“You have to progress. You can’t stand still. The money wasn’t there at the time. I earned £100,000. You have to give something to your management. You’re paying a lot of travel costs and stuff. Then we have the tax man."

With a wink, he puts into perspective the million that will soon be waiting for the winner. “We all know the guy who wins a million, half of that goes to the tax man."

Still, Van Barneveld is proud of his role in the sport's rise. “Of course, I’m proud that we’re getting there and we all have the ability to earn that million.

“I always said I made the path smoother for all the younger players. I’m still on that same road. All the rest are coming behind me.

Just because the current generation enjoys more financial security doesn't mean Van Barneveld can rest on his laurels. He talks about how offstage reality can still be harsh. “Yeah, it’s good. But if I’m in the supermarket, and I need to pay 100 euros, I could say: ‘Oh, excuse me, I’m the one who put darts on the map…’ They say: ‘Yeah, I was watching, too, but 100 euros, sir.’

He says it's simple: past performance doesn't pay the bills. “This is the funny way of saying you still need to make money. You can’t rely on things that happened in the past. That money is all gone.

“So you have to keep earning money to have a nice living situation, to pay your bills or your rent or your mortgage.”