Van Duijvenbode on return of Van Barneveld to PDC ProTour: "You hardly realized he had quit"

Raymond van Barneveld will make his comeback on the PDC circuit next week and he has been welcomed back by his compatriot, Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Van Duijvenbode was delighted that he claimed a Tour Card including for Dutch darts.

"This is good for the Dutch darts. After Van Gerwen there is a big gap. He was also a bit out of form last year and then you missed the Dutch player who went far in a tournament. I did a good job, so that is partly compensated, but I am not yet a big name," said Van Duijvenbode to NU.nl.

Van Barneveld was known in the past for his often negative behaviour after disappointments.

"The games had the biggest impact on Raymond's state of mind. He had been so dominant in the past that only winning mattered to him and nothing else. That will not always work in the future, so it remains to be seen how he will deal with disappointment in future."

Despite that, he is already looking forward to the return of 'Barney' on the Pro Tour. "It's going to be nice to see Raymond again, but there hasn't been that much darts in the last year, so you hardly realized he had quit."