Biography
Raymond van Barneveld is one of the greatest Dutch sportsmen of all time and one of the greatest darts stars in history.
And his history-making deal to join Team Unicorn will surely be the platform to catapult him to greater achievements!
Five Times, Barneveld has been crowned World Champion but that isn’t enough for the man who has become a huge hit with darts fans across the world – but especially in the UK, where ‘The Barney Army’ packs the big venues up and down the country to watch their hero!
“It is an honour for me to be a big part of Team Unicorn and with new darts and a new sponsor, it is time for a new start,” he said.
And his four-year deal with Unicorn will add extra spice to the terrific darting rivalry that he enjoys against the great Phil Taylor. Since Barney switched to the PDC in 2006, it has developed into one of THE great rivalries in sport.
And it was against Taylor, that Barneveld achieved the most memorable victory of his career when he won ‘The Greatest Game’ against ‘The Power’ to be crowned the 2007 World Champion at The Circus Tavern.
Remember, he made a sensational entrance to the world of the PDC – hitting his first ever televised 9 darter in the Premier League at Bournemouth, beating Taylor on his way to his 1st PDC ‘Major’ – the UK Open, winning the World Championship and he was PDC No.1 for six months, as the success story continued.
But Barneveld’s last ‘Major’ TV title came in Las Vegas in July 2007 and he knows it’s time to hit the ground running with Team Unicorn.
“This is a great opportunity for me. I had problems with sponsors, my darts and all the travelling and I guess I lost focus but this deal with Unicorn has fired me up and I have the hunger back.”
Unicorn will develop the perfect dart for the Dutchman and Barney products will be sold worldwide for the first time ever. The future looks bright – the future looks Orange! There is no doubting Barneveld’s class and once the belief returns, the confidence will grow and the big prizes in the sport of darts will follow.
“Unicorn will give me the equipment that I need and the rest will follow. It’s all about confidence and my track record speaks for itself, so I know I have to lift myself up to Taylor’s level again.”
“What he is doing at the moment is unbelievable and I have to do all I can to beat this guy, but I will, I know I have the game to do it!”
Currently World No3, Barney has twice won a poll to be voted the most popular darts player in the world and he has signed a four-year deal with Unicorn to help take his career to the next level.
It was 11 years ago that he quit his job as a postman to turn professional after his first World Championship triumph, when he beat Richie Burnett 6-5 to win a thrilling Embassy Final at The Lakeside.
That final was watched by more than five million TV viewers in Holland – a third of the darts population and when he made his triumphant return, 10,000 fans turned up at the airport to welcome him home!
In an instant, Barney was responsible for darts hysteria in Holland. Dutch darts authorities at the time reported 7,000 registered members – but after the first Lakeside triumph, that number shot up to 45,000!
Barney Mania was born and nowadays it is the Barney Army – all dressed in their Dutch Orange shirts!
Overnight his life changed and he has never looked back. Barneveld went from an £800 per month ‘postie’ to winning a cheque for £40,000 and his world changed forever.
After 15 years with the BDO, Barneveld made the great leap across the darting divide and his great rivalry with Taylor began.
THE magical moment of course, came at the last ever World Championship staged at the famous Circus Tavern and what an amazing tournament it was for the Dutchman.
But the dream was nearly shattered in the second round, when Barney staged one of his now famous comebacks. If you remember, he fell three sets to nil down against Colin Lloyd and it really did look all over.
However, as Lloyd proceeded to miss four darts for the match, Barneveld produced some amazing darts to take the match into a deciding set. It went all the way to a sudden death shoot-out and Barney prevailed in one of the best games ever seen at the Circus Tavern.
Who knows, after that – perhaps his name was written on the World Championship trophy. The rest of his route to the final was plain sailing. The Dutchman beat Rico Vonk, Alan Tabern and Andy Jenkins without dropping a single set to make it the dream final against Taylor.
The dream though, turned into a nightmare as Barney fluffed his lines on his big night. It looked all over as Taylor raced into a 3 sets to nil lead. Barneveld just couldn’t get into the game and hadn’t hit a single 180!
We then witnessed one of the most incredible comebacks of all time. No wonder it was dubbed ‘The Greatest Game’.
Barneveld stormed back with some power scoring and terrific finishing. He hit a sensational 21 180s and took the match to a final set decider.
Both players averaged over 100 over 13 breathtaking sets of darts and of course, in the end it all came down to one leg of darts. Barney won the throw but when Taylor hit a maximum, it looked like he had seized the initiative but Barneveld replied with a 180 of his own and seconds later, nailed D20 to cut ‘The Power’ and win his 5th World Championship crown.
“Of course, my first World Championship in 1998 was magical,” he said. “But I doubt anything could top that. It was my dream when I came to the PDC to beat Taylor and win the World Championship and I did it!”
Taylor of course, got his revenge in the 2009 World Championship Final at the Alexandra Palace, winning by 7 sets to 1 but Barney missed so many doubles and so many chances. It could have been a lot closer and five of the sets Taylor won were by 3 legs to 2.
“That hurt,” admitted Barneveld. “Nobody realised how small I felt on stage afterwards. I was thinking - what am I doing here. After 25 years in darts, I don’t ever want to experience that again.”
But reaching the World Final was still a real achievement for the Dutchman, who had been below his best for a while and he still managed to re-write the darting history books at the Ally Pally, by becoming the first man ever to hit a perfect 9-darter at the World Championship.
The magical feat came in the quarter-finals against Jelle Klaasen and earned him a £20,000 bonus. He beat Team Unicorn stablemate James Wade in the semi-finals but was again involved in another World Championship epic earlier in the tournament.
In the 3rd Round he was teetering on the brink against a rejuvenated Ronnie Baxter. ‘The Rocket’ was 3 sets to 2 in front and also missed three darts for the match as it went to another sudden death shoot-out, when Barney held his nerve to win.
During his dramatic time in the PDC, Barneveld has also won the UK Open in Bolton twice – beating Barrie Bates in 2006 and Vincent van der Voort a year later.
He has beaten Taylor for three consecutive years at the Reebok – all in the quarter-finals and his 11-4 win in 2007 was one of the heaviest defeats that Taylor has ever suffered in a TV ‘Major’.
Barneveld looked on course for a unique hat-trick of UK Open triumphs in 2008 but after again beating Taylor in the last eight, he ran out of steam and lost to Gary Mawson in the semi-finals.
Barney beat Taylor again in the semi-finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic in 2006 but lost to Unicorn’s John Part in the final. However, he won the title in Vegas a year later when he outplayed Terry Jenkins in the final.
Since then though, by Barney’s own high standards, it has been a struggle. Despite a dozen tournament wins on the PDC Pro Tour, a big title has eluded him and that is a source of great frustration.
“I have been close a couple of times but it just hasn’t happened,” he said.
“I know it is only a blip though, and I just have to stay patient to win another TV title again and I have a feeling it is going to come this year.”
His two appearances at the World Matchplay in Blackpool have both ended in the quarter-finals and it was the same story at the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts, where missed doubles again cost him dear. Barney was 9-7 up on Terry Jenknis but blew three darts for the match and lost 9-10.
Barneveld did reach the final of the 2008 World Grand Prix in Dublin, where he lost by 6 sets to 2 against a certain Mr Taylor. Unfortunately, it was the same story at both the first ever European Championships and Players Championship Finals.
In Frankfurt, Barney ran up against an inspired Adrian Lewis, who came up with an average of 109 in winning 9 legs to 4…..and at the Circus Tavern in January, he lost a last leg decider to James Wade.
It all added to the frustration for the Dutchman but a change in attitude, a change of darts and the backing of the world’s biggest darts manufacturer will all help to put him back on track for the big titles he craves.
Barney was actually a relatively late starter when it came to the sport that was to give him fame and fortune. He was 17-years-old when his parents bought him a dartboard for his birthday.
He entered his first competition in Holland soon after and the rest, as they say, is history. Barneveld was hooked on the sport but he had to be patient before his immense talent finally shone through.
Barneveld first qualified for the Embassy World Championship in 1991 but it turned into an unhappy experience, as he lost three sets to nil to Australian Keith Sullivan in the 1st Round.
But all the hard work soon started to pay dividends. It was in 1994 that he reached his first big final – losing the Finnish Open to Andy Fordham and a year later Barney got to the World Final but lost by 6 sets to 3 against Richie Burnett.
Revenge was to be sweet though, and three years later, he won the first World crown against the Welshman. In 1999, he went back to the Lakeside and successfully defended his title – this time beating Ronnie Baxter in another final which went all the way to an 11th set decider.
World Championship No.3 came in 2003 with a 6-3 win over Wales’ Ritchie Davies and although he was beaten by Fordham in the semi-finals a year later, Barney was back to claim a 4th World title in 2005.
This was by far the most impressive of his BDO World Championship titles. The Dutchman breezed through his first three matches without dropping a single set. He then beat Darryl Fitton 5-3 in the semi-finals, before putting Martin Adams to the sword, with a 6 sets to 2 victory in the final.
Sadly, his last ever match in the BDO didn’t result in a 5th World Championship with that organisation, which would have equalled Eric Bristow’s record. He lost the 2006 World Final to a then unknown called Jelle Klaasen and soon after, announced his switch to the Professional Darts Corporation.
Barneveld was also crowned World Masters Champion twice. He won the prestigious event in 2001 beating Jarkko Komula and again in 2005 when he beat Goran Klemme.
On top of that, there were two terrific victories on home turf in the World Darts Trophy. In 2003, Barney has a 105 average in thrashing Mervyn King in the final and 12 months later he once again got the better of Adams in a ‘Major’ Final.
Also in Holland, came three big wins at the International Darts League – against King, Australian Tony David and Mervyn King in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
Three times, he was a World Cup winner! In 1997, 1999 and 2003, Barney won the men’s singles titles.
And one of the best consistent performances of Barneveld’s illustrious career came at the 2007 Masters of Darts tournament, which was also held in Holland. He was unstoppable all week and posted a 107 average in a 7-0 win over Peter Manley in the final.
Barneveld has also hit six 9-darters in competition….two in Switzerland on the BDO circuit away from the TV cameras, that sensational night in Bournemouth in the 2006 Premier League, last year’s World Championship, one at the German Darts Championship and more recently in a 2009 UK Open Regional qualifier event on Coventry.
There is no doubt in the eyes of most darts fans that Barneveld is right up there in the top three players in history and you can see why!
Raymond lives in the The Hague and is married to Sylvia. They have three children – Mike, Daisy and Patty.
Away from the oche, Barney enjoys his music (especially stuff from the 1980s!) and he is also a big film buff. He has set up a movie theatre at his home.
He also is a gadget freak and can’t pass an electrical store without going in to buy the latest ‘in-thing’!
But one word that can definitely be associated with Raymond van Barneveld is – WINNER – and he is ready to start winning those big tournaments again.