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Raymond van Barneveld
26 Oct 2011
RAYMOND will go down in history as Holland's most successful darts player, having won five World Championships amongst a string of major titles during his career so far.
Van Barneveld broke onto the professional circuit in 1990 and made his BDO World Championship debut at the Lakeside the following year.
He reached the second round of the tournament in 1993 on his second appearance, losing to eventual winner John Lowe as his emergence from a postman and part-time star into Holland's leading player continued, seeing him reach the World Championship final in 1995, losing to Richie Burnett.
Wins in the Finland Open and Doeland Grand Masters in 1995 saw him pick up ranking titles for the first time, followed in the next two years by wins in the Belgian, Danish, Norwegian and British Opens.
He also won the World Cup in Australia in 1997, as well as the PDC's World Pairs event alongside Roland Scholten in the same year, before picking up his first World Championship win in 1998 - with a revenge win over Burnett - followed by him moving to the top of the BDO/WDF World Rankings.
A victory in the 1999 World Championship, over Ronnie Baxter, saw him become only the second player in the event's history to retain the title, also earning him a "Battle of the Champions" against Phil Taylor at Wembley, where he lost 21 legs to 10 in a one-hour face-off.
It would be three years before he lifted the World Championship trophy again, but wins in 2003 and 2005 saw him move onto four titles - second only to Taylor and Eric Bristow in the game's history.
Van Barneveld claimed the World Masters title in 2001 and 2005, and also picked up both the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy titles in 2003 and 2004 in Holland.
He reached the World Championship final again in 2006, where he took on fellow Dutchman Jelle Klaasen, but lost 7-5 to the newcomer and then made the decision to move onto the Professional Darts Corporation circuit.
A debutant in the Premier League in February 2006, he made an immediate impression on the event, recording the event's first nine-darter - and his third in competition - in a win over Peter Manley in Bournemouth.
Click here for a Photo Gallery from Raymond van Barneveld's nine-darter in Bournemouth
He was a semi-finalist in his first Premier League campaign, and claimed victory in a third International Darts League as well as overcoming Taylor in winning the UK Open, his first PDC major title.
A run to the final of the Las Vegas Desert Classic followed, with Taylor a semi-final victim before John Part won the decider, and van Barneveld did enough with four wins in non-televised events and a debut in the World Grand Prix to reach the top 32 and earn an automatic place in his first PDC World Championship.
He made a sensational debut at the Circus Tavern, battling his way to the final - including a stunning comeback win over number one seed Colin Lloyd - to earn a clash with Taylor, which went into history as one of the sport's greatest ever contests.
Van Barneveld found himself three sets down before making another brilliant fightback, landing 21 maximums and a 170 finish in taking the match into a deciding 13th set, which was eventually settled in a sudden-death leg as the Dutchman sneaked victory.
The change to an Order of Merit system saw him immediately jump up the rankings, and his success continued both in televised events and away from the big stage despite a second successive Premier League semi-final loss.
A Masters of Darts win in Holland, where he averaged 107 in whitewashing Peter Manley 7-0 in sets, was followed by six PDC Pro Tour wins during 2007 and a run to the final of the PDC US Open in Connecticut, where he lost to Taylor.
He successfully defending his UK Open title, again overcoming Taylor in the quarter-finals before defeating Vincent van der Voort in the final, and then added the Desert Classic title in July with a victory over Terry Jenkins.
His hopes of completing a clean sweep of Sky Sports televised major titles was ended by Adrian Lewis in the World Matchplay, and James Wade took victory in a semi-final meeting in the World Grand Prix.
Jenkins gained revenge for his defeat in Las Vegas to end van Barneveld's chances at the first Grand Slam of Darts in November 2007, and the defence of his World Championship title was cut short in the last 16 with a defeat to Kevin Painter at Alexandra Palace.
However, his displays earned him the coveted title of world number one in January 2008, seeing him overtake Taylor at the head of the Order of Merit for the first time, although that would only last for six months.
While van Barneveld missed out in the semi-finals of the Premier League for a third successive year, to James Wade, in May 2008, while American Gary Mawson ended his bid for a hat-trick of UK Open titles in the semi-finals after he continued his Bolton dominance over Taylor with another win at the Reebok Stadium.
Mawson had also condemned the Dutch star to defeat in the PDC US Open, while Alan Tabern and Wayne Mardle overcame van Barneveld in the Desert Classic and World Matchplay during the summer of 2008.
A return to form followed in the latter part of the year, as van Barneveld reached the final of the World Grand Prix, where he lost to Taylor, and then powered to another World Championship final.
His appearance at Alexandra Palace proved historic, as he landed the first ever nine-darter in the PDC World Championship during a win over Klaasen in the quarter-finals, although his bid for a sixth title was ended once again by Taylor, who took a 7-1 victory.
He was a quarter-finalist in the inaugural Players Championship finals at Purfleet, losing to James Wade, and hit a nine-darter during a PDC Pro Tour event in Coventry - in a run of two quarter-finals and a final in three events.
But his bid to claim the Premier League title again failed at the semi-final stage, losing to Wade in the last four after finishing third following the 14 weekly rounds.
A challenge for a third UK Open was ended by Colin Osborne in the last 16, although he showed his best form in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, winning through to a third final in four years before Taylor - for the third time in under a year - took major honours against his great rival.
His summer challenge ended with a quarter-final defeat in the World Matchplay for a third successive year, this time at the hands of Terry Jenkins, before he returned to action in October at the World Grand Prix.
As he had 12 months earlier, van Barneveld won through to the final of the double-start event in Dublin, and led 2-0 against Taylor before the reigning champion hit back to win 6-3.
Although he was a second round loser to Mark Walsh on Dutch soil in the European Championship later that month, van Barneveld then reached the semi-finals in his next three outings, firstly at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he lost 16-6 to Taylor, and then at the German Darts Championship, where King took a 9-8 win.
A return to Alexandra Palace saw van Barneveld's love affair with the venue continue with a nine-darter in a second successive World Championship, during a second round win over Brendan Dolan, as he reached the last four before suffering a 6-5 sets defeat to Simon Whitlock.
The Dutchman also hit a second Premier League Darts nine-darter in Aberdeen in April 2010, which proved the high point of a disappointing first half of the year for van Barneveld.
He returned from a two-month break at the World Matchplay and landed another televised nine-darter - his third inside eight months - in a brilliant first round win over Denis Ovens as he progressed for the first time to the final in Blackpool.
Taylor again proved too strong, winning 18-12, while his European Championship bid the next week was ended by Wayne Jones in the quarter-finals.
The 2010 World Grand Prix saw van Barneveld fail in his bid to reach a third successive final as Wade took victory in their semi-final, while Scott Waites ended his Grand Slam of Darts challenge in the second round.
The year ended successfully, though, as van Barneveld claimed his first televised title since 2007 by partnering Co Stompe to PDC World Cup glory, defeating Wales in the final as the pair enjoyed a fine weekend.
A brilliant Gary Anderson performance saw van Barneveld knocked out of the World Championship in the quarter-finals, before he began the year with a Players Championship quarter-final in Germany and also reached a UK Open Qualifier final in Wigan, losing to Vincent van der Voort.
Alongside a more successful Premier League challenge, van Barneveld won through to the RTL7 International Mastersfinal in Holland, losing out to Taylor in Egmond Aan Zee.
He returned to the Premier League's Play-Offs in May 2011 after finishing second in the final league table, although for a fifth time he was defeated in the semi-finals, as Anderson denied him that elusive spot in the final.
Wes Newton knocked the Dutchman out of the UK Open in the last 16, while a change to a lighter dart saw van Barneveld enjoy some summer form, reaching the last eight at the World Matchplay - where he overcame Steve Brown and Paul Nicholson but lost to Wade - before winning through to the European Championship semi-finals, only to lose in a deciding leg to Adrian Lewis after the Englishman hit a nine-darter earlier in the game.
Van Barneveld broke onto the professional circuit in 1990 and made his BDO World Championship debut at the Lakeside the following year.
He reached the second round of the tournament in 1993 on his second appearance, losing to eventual winner John Lowe as his emergence from a postman and part-time star into Holland's leading player continued, seeing him reach the World Championship final in 1995, losing to Richie Burnett.
Wins in the Finland Open and Doeland Grand Masters in 1995 saw him pick up ranking titles for the first time, followed in the next two years by wins in the Belgian, Danish, Norwegian and British Opens.
He also won the World Cup in Australia in 1997, as well as the PDC's World Pairs event alongside Roland Scholten in the same year, before picking up his first World Championship win in 1998 - with a revenge win over Burnett - followed by him moving to the top of the BDO/WDF World Rankings.
A victory in the 1999 World Championship, over Ronnie Baxter, saw him become only the second player in the event's history to retain the title, also earning him a "Battle of the Champions" against Phil Taylor at Wembley, where he lost 21 legs to 10 in a one-hour face-off.
It would be three years before he lifted the World Championship trophy again, but wins in 2003 and 2005 saw him move onto four titles - second only to Taylor and Eric Bristow in the game's history.
Van Barneveld claimed the World Masters title in 2001 and 2005, and also picked up both the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy titles in 2003 and 2004 in Holland.
He reached the World Championship final again in 2006, where he took on fellow Dutchman Jelle Klaasen, but lost 7-5 to the newcomer and then made the decision to move onto the Professional Darts Corporation circuit.
A debutant in the Premier League in February 2006, he made an immediate impression on the event, recording the event's first nine-darter - and his third in competition - in a win over Peter Manley in Bournemouth.
Click here for a Photo Gallery from Raymond van Barneveld's nine-darter in Bournemouth
He was a semi-finalist in his first Premier League campaign, and claimed victory in a third International Darts League as well as overcoming Taylor in winning the UK Open, his first PDC major title.
A run to the final of the Las Vegas Desert Classic followed, with Taylor a semi-final victim before John Part won the decider, and van Barneveld did enough with four wins in non-televised events and a debut in the World Grand Prix to reach the top 32 and earn an automatic place in his first PDC World Championship.
He made a sensational debut at the Circus Tavern, battling his way to the final - including a stunning comeback win over number one seed Colin Lloyd - to earn a clash with Taylor, which went into history as one of the sport's greatest ever contests.
Van Barneveld found himself three sets down before making another brilliant fightback, landing 21 maximums and a 170 finish in taking the match into a deciding 13th set, which was eventually settled in a sudden-death leg as the Dutchman sneaked victory.
The change to an Order of Merit system saw him immediately jump up the rankings, and his success continued both in televised events and away from the big stage despite a second successive Premier League semi-final loss.
A Masters of Darts win in Holland, where he averaged 107 in whitewashing Peter Manley 7-0 in sets, was followed by six PDC Pro Tour wins during 2007 and a run to the final of the PDC US Open in Connecticut, where he lost to Taylor.
He successfully defending his UK Open title, again overcoming Taylor in the quarter-finals before defeating Vincent van der Voort in the final, and then added the Desert Classic title in July with a victory over Terry Jenkins.
His hopes of completing a clean sweep of Sky Sports televised major titles was ended by Adrian Lewis in the World Matchplay, and James Wade took victory in a semi-final meeting in the World Grand Prix.
Jenkins gained revenge for his defeat in Las Vegas to end van Barneveld's chances at the first Grand Slam of Darts in November 2007, and the defence of his World Championship title was cut short in the last 16 with a defeat to Kevin Painter at Alexandra Palace.
However, his displays earned him the coveted title of world number one in January 2008, seeing him overtake Taylor at the head of the Order of Merit for the first time, although that would only last for six months.
While van Barneveld missed out in the semi-finals of the Premier League for a third successive year, to James Wade, in May 2008, while American Gary Mawson ended his bid for a hat-trick of UK Open titles in the semi-finals after he continued his Bolton dominance over Taylor with another win at the Reebok Stadium.
Mawson had also condemned the Dutch star to defeat in the PDC US Open, while Alan Tabern and Wayne Mardle overcame van Barneveld in the Desert Classic and World Matchplay during the summer of 2008.
A return to form followed in the latter part of the year, as van Barneveld reached the final of the World Grand Prix, where he lost to Taylor, and then powered to another World Championship final.
His appearance at Alexandra Palace proved historic, as he landed the first ever nine-darter in the PDC World Championship during a win over Klaasen in the quarter-finals, although his bid for a sixth title was ended once again by Taylor, who took a 7-1 victory.
He was a quarter-finalist in the inaugural Players Championship finals at Purfleet, losing to James Wade, and hit a nine-darter during a PDC Pro Tour event in Coventry - in a run of two quarter-finals and a final in three events.
But his bid to claim the Premier League title again failed at the semi-final stage, losing to Wade in the last four after finishing third following the 14 weekly rounds.
A challenge for a third UK Open was ended by Colin Osborne in the last 16, although he showed his best form in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, winning through to a third final in four years before Taylor - for the third time in under a year - took major honours against his great rival.
His summer challenge ended with a quarter-final defeat in the World Matchplay for a third successive year, this time at the hands of Terry Jenkins, before he returned to action in October at the World Grand Prix.
As he had 12 months earlier, van Barneveld won through to the final of the double-start event in Dublin, and led 2-0 against Taylor before the reigning champion hit back to win 6-3.
Although he was a second round loser to Mark Walsh on Dutch soil in the European Championship later that month, van Barneveld then reached the semi-finals in his next three outings, firstly at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he lost 16-6 to Taylor, and then at the German Darts Championship, where King took a 9-8 win.
A return to Alexandra Palace saw van Barneveld's love affair with the venue continue with a nine-darter in a second successive World Championship, during a second round win over Brendan Dolan, as he reached the last four before suffering a 6-5 sets defeat to Simon Whitlock.
The Dutchman also hit a second Premier League Darts nine-darter in Aberdeen in April 2010, which proved the high point of a disappointing first half of the year for van Barneveld.
He returned from a two-month break at the World Matchplay and landed another televised nine-darter - his third inside eight months - in a brilliant first round win over Denis Ovens as he progressed for the first time to the final in Blackpool.
Taylor again proved too strong, winning 18-12, while his European Championship bid the next week was ended by Wayne Jones in the quarter-finals.
The 2010 World Grand Prix saw van Barneveld fail in his bid to reach a third successive final as Wade took victory in their semi-final, while Scott Waites ended his Grand Slam of Darts challenge in the second round.
The year ended successfully, though, as van Barneveld claimed his first televised title since 2007 by partnering Co Stompe to PDC World Cup glory, defeating Wales in the final as the pair enjoyed a fine weekend.
A brilliant Gary Anderson performance saw van Barneveld knocked out of the World Championship in the quarter-finals, before he began the year with a Players Championship quarter-final in Germany and also reached a UK Open Qualifier final in Wigan, losing to Vincent van der Voort.
Alongside a more successful Premier League challenge, van Barneveld won through to the RTL7 International Mastersfinal in Holland, losing out to Taylor in Egmond Aan Zee.
He returned to the Premier League's Play-Offs in May 2011 after finishing second in the final league table, although for a fifth time he was defeated in the semi-finals, as Anderson denied him that elusive spot in the final.
Wes Newton knocked the Dutchman out of the UK Open in the last 16, while a change to a lighter dart saw van Barneveld enjoy some summer form, reaching the last eight at the World Matchplay - where he overcame Steve Brown and Paul Nicholson but lost to Wade - before winning through to the European Championship semi-finals, only to lose in a deciding leg to Adrian Lewis after the Englishman hit a nine-darter earlier in the game.
| Name: | Raymond van Barneveld |
| Nickname: | Barney/The Man |
| Walk-On Music: | Eye of the Tiger - Survivor |
| Date of Birth: | 20/4/1967 |
| Place of Birth: | Den Haag |
| Current Home Town: | Den Haag |
| Darts Used: | 23g Unicorn |
| TV Debut: | 1991 |
| Website: | Click here |
Major Titles
World Championships:
BDO: 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005
PDC: 2007
UK Open: 2006, 2007
Las Vegas Desert Classic: 2007
International Darts League: 2003, 2004, 2006
World Darts Trophy: 2003, 2004
World Masters: 2001, 2005
Masters of Darts: 2007
PDC World Cup: 2010
PDC non-televised tournament wins since 2005:
UK Open Midlands Regional Final 2006
Players Championship (Hayling Island) 2006
UK Open Irish Regional Final 2006
UK Open Scottish Regional Final 2006
UK Open North-East Regional Final 2007
Players Championship (Gibraltar) 2007
Players Championship (Germany) 2007
Las Vegas Players Championship 2007
Players Championship (Wales) 2007
UK Open Irish Regional Final 2007
Open Holland Masters Players Championship 2008
Players Championship (Derby) 2011
Nine-Dart Legs in PDC competitions
Premier League Darts 2006
German Darts Championship 2007
PDC World Darts Championship 2009, 2010
UK Open North-West Regional Final 2009
World Matchplay 2010
Players Championship (Dublin) 2011
Other Awards
PDC Best Newcomer 2006
PDC Fans' Player of the Year 2006
PDC Best Floor Player 2007
