Raymond van Barneveld did not play a good match Friday, but nevertheless managed to reach the second round at the
World Series of Darts Finals in front of his own crowd.
The 56-year-old Hague native did not have an ideal preparation for his duel against Jeff Smith. Van Barneveld is in full preparation for his wedding, which takes place in Cyprus on Tuesday. ''I haven't touched an arrow for almost a week and a half because of organizing my wedding,'' Van Barneveld told De Telegraaf afterwards.
Van Barneveld then summed up his busy week. ''Tuesday morning I flew to Cyprus incredibly early, at a quarter past six the plane went to Larnaca,'' Van Barneveld began. ''Then you have conversations with the organization, the photographer, video and the hotel to make the necessary arrangements. I knew it all a year in advance of course, but it's still damn difficult. Thursday night we had some delay, so I wasn't in bed until 3:30 in the morning (Thursday to Friday, ed.) and then I woke up again at 8:30. Look, you're not asking for that, of course. Normally I strive for eight hours (of sleep, ed.), so this does take energy.''
Should Van Barneveld manage to reach the final in Amsterdam, he will have just one more day to travel to Cyprus. ''I have got myself into a bit of trouble. Then I have to go to London on Monday at 6 a.m. and from there, on to Larnaca. Cyprus is not drivable, of course. Were we to get married in England, you still have that train tunnel. Everyone would say, you know, Ray, f*ck it. Just lose that first round and get married. But I'm just not like that. I always want to win.''
The five-time world champion will take on world champion Michael Smith in the second round on Saturday night. ''An insider told me that Michael Smith doesn't feel like it because his son's birthday is on Monday. But believe me: he just wants to cut my head off. I also just want to get up and show another level, because this was not Raymond van Barneveld-worthy.''
