“You don’t want to end like this, do you?” – Should Van Barneveld keep his dignity and put his darts aside?

Raymond van Barneveld endured a disastrous opening match at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship. The 58-year-old Dutchman won just two of the eleven legs played and was swept aside 3-0 by Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont. In the latest episode of the Darts Draait Door podcast, Damien Vlottes and Vincent van der Voort looked back on his match, and also previewed Thursday night, when Michael van Gerwen will be in action among others.

“It was just really not good,” Van der Voort began. “You hope to see someone who does everything to win, shows it, and goes down fighting. And you don’t see that with Raymond at the moment. Then it all looks pretty sad.”

“And for such a great champion, that’s just hard to watch,” something guest player Arjan Moen agreed with in this episode. He’s pessimistic about the man from The Hague. “I don’t think it’s going to get better. He has one year left. I don’t know if he’s going to see that out.”

Van der Voort, however, doesn’t believe ‘Barney’ needs to worry about his Tour Card. “It won’t come to that, but he does need to find some joy somewhere.” He also doesn’t want people to forget Van Barneveld’s past results. “He’s been so good. You don’t want to end like this, do you? In my eyes he’s simply one of the five best darts players of all time. And when you see him like this…”

It wasn’t as if his opponent Bellmont was playing lights out either, Van der Voort added. “That was fine too. It was just okay. But a normal Van Barneveld would still have absolutely taken him apart. We’re talking about Raymond van Barneveld here. On status and willpower alone he should be able to win ugly against him.”

“You also fear it keeps getting worse. Beforehand we thought: Bellmont, that’s a certain baseline. He won’t lose that. And now that’s happened too.” Van der Voort responded: “That’s where we are now, that he’s losing to these kinds of names as well.”

Should Dutch darts fans worry that Van Barneveld’s career might be over? “I don’t think he’s mentally ready to stop,” said Van der Voort. “But yes, something has to change for next year, otherwise you’ll get another year like this. And nobody really wants to see that.”

Michael van Gerwen begins his Worlds on Thursday night, 12/18/2025. The Dutchman is the overwhelming favorite to win his opener but must guard against complacency. The verdict on Van Gerwen’s first round against Tatsunami is clear: he’s no high-flyer, but it’s no free pass either. “He’s definitely not a bad player. His first dart takes a bit longer, but after that he throws at a decent pace.”

Van der Voort outlined Van Gerwen’s mindset. “You can tell he’s completely focused on the Worlds. Everything else gives way.” He believes Van Gerwen is in a better place than a year ago, when he “was really in a form crisis.” But there are no guarantees: “The first round for him is always a nervy affair.”

That’s why a strong start is crucial, not just for the result but for the feeling. Van der Voort warned: “Winning this match 3-1 with an 89 average won’t bring much satisfaction.” It needs to be a match where Van Gerwen can say: “Okay, I can build on this.”

Moen expects even more: “I think it’s very important for Michael tonight to make a small statement to the rest of the field.” As for the bookmakers’ odds, he says Van Gerwen should be second or third favorite, not lower: “That triggered him. Then he wants to show that’s unjustified,” he concluded.