Raymond van Barneveld admits he still wants to show he can compete with the best ahead of the World Matchplay 2025, live on Sky Sports.
Van Barneveld will face Michael van Gerwen in a blockbuster first-round match at the World Matchplay on Monday July 21 at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.
The all-Dutch clash is one of the big spectacles of the first round in one of the toughest tournaments around, with Van Gerwen a three-time winner while Van Barneveld fell in the final at the hands of Phil Taylor back in 2010.
While Van Gerwen is still world No 3, with ‘Barney’ currently at world No 36, Van Barneveld wants to show he can still compete with the best in the sport on his day.
Indeed, he wants to ensure he is not having to deal with that losing feeling and show why he should be considered a winner once again.
“First of all, it’s the crowd that always kept me going. It’s fantastic if they sing your song, you know, like Barney Army,” Van Barneveld told the Love the Darts podcast.
“It’s always great to perform for a crowd like in Germany or UK or wherever we go nowadays. That’s incredible. That keeps you going.
“But sometimes you still want to prove that you can still show them what you’re good at. I’m still No 36 in the world, I’m 58. I’m still here, I’m enjoying.
“It’s not always great, you have to handle defeats sometimes three, four days a week. No one sees this.
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Love The Darts podcast cast their predictions for the World Matchplay Darts at the Winter Gardens
“We play midweeks, we play two or three Pro Tours or qualifications, then we go to the Euro tour. So sometimes you have to deal with three or four losers in a week. I can’t even handle one time a week.
“So imagine you have to deal with that three, four times a week dealing with defeats. And this is only one week out of 52 I’m talking about.
“I’m a winner and time is changing. Years ago, I was with Phil Taylor, Michael Van Gerwen, Gary Anderson. People always talked about you. But that’s not happening anymore.”
The World Matchplay is always a stage the big players want to make their mark on and that is no different for Van Barneveld, who is focused on ensuring that his form at the majors improves.
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Speaking on the Love The Darts podcast, Michael Bridge and Paul Nicholson preview Luke Littler’s first-round clash with Ryan Searle at the World Matchplay Darts
“It is not a secret that in the majors I’m doing pretty badly and losing first rounds all the time. And you try to find an answer to where does this go wrong, what I need to adjust, what I need to do,” he added.
“Of course, I’m proud, but proud doesn’t bring you anywhere, you want to have results.
“So it’s really good that people talk about you and they still say, ‘oh, wow, he’s still there, he’s still doing it and hope he’s proud’.
“But at the end, you want results and with results, you feel happier. Then you want to go do more and more and more.”
Get ready for a spectacle: MVG vs RVB!
For former player Paul Nicholson, the game between Van Barneveld and Van Gerwen will once again be a spectacle, especially because the former will raise his game against the latter.
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Paul Nicholson and Michael Bridge discuss Michael van Gerwen’s form heading into the World Matchplay where he plays Raymond van Barneveld in the first round
“This is a difficult game for Michael for two reasons,” Nicholson said on Love the Darts.
“One, Raymond is going to turn up in this game, you know he is, because he is going to want to beat Michael on this stage.
“He did in 2009 in very different circumstances of course but Raymond is going to lift his game the same way Gary Anderson always lifts his against Michael as well.
“It is going to be a spectacle. Michael just needs to grind over the next few days and get himself ready for a dust-up.
“I will never ever bat against Michael because he has a tenacity and when he is up against certain people, he always seems to find that extra little spark.
“I have a feeling he is going to need it.”
Watch the World Matchplay live on Sky Sports from July 19-27 or stream without a contract.