Van Barneveld continues to hope for sixth world title: ''I still believe in that, otherwise I won't compete''

Raymond van Barneveld begins his hunt for a sixth world title on Tuesday night. 'Barney' plays in his first match against Ryan Meikle, if he wins, Gerwyn Price awaits him in the last 32.

The Dutchman impressed last month at the Grand Slam of Darts by reaching the semifinals, including two victories over Price. 'The Iceman' will have to be beaten again to compete for the world title.

''I still believe in that, otherwise I won't participate,'' the five-time world champion told De Telegraaf. ''I cannot go to a tournament with the feeling that I am padding. If I participate, I have the feeling that I can win and I can, only the rest around me has also become stronger and more stable. It's a matter of being sharp and keep doing it, otherwise after the match you may just shake hands and congratulate the opponent."

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To his great frustration, Van Barneveld also had to do that after his semifinal at the Grand Slam of Darts against Michael Smith. ''Barney'' was again unabatedly hard on himself afterwards in the interview at Viaplay.

''How can that be? That's twofold," Van Barneveld said. ''I think if I had won, I would have won that final as well, so at that point the dream of lifting the cup was shattered. And I was ranked 32nd in the world, but that elimination meant that I had to win my match at the Players Championship (that didn't happen, by the way, against his self-proclaimed fear-monger Kim Huybrechts, ed.). That I would be lucky if my competitors also lost and I still remained in the best 32, I did not know at that time. That is why I say 'I still have nothing'. The people at home then say: 'Yes, but hey, you took more than 50,000 pounds'. Then my message doesn't come across well of course, I understand that."

But Van Barneveld says there's nothing he can do about it. ''That's just the way I am. That's also how I keep myself sharp, although that's not always a good thing. Then you can get media training, but all that says nothing. I'm not going to say things I don't feel, because I'm not an actor. What you see, is what you get with me. And some people think that's fine and others hate it. Nah, I can't do anything with either." And then laughing, "I'm fine with it, I really don't give a shit. For my feeling, my mission was not successful, because I always go for gold. But I'm also grateful to be moving forward again, mind you."

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