When the entry list for the Winmau World Masters settled into place, one name of gravitational weight was missing. Dutch darting juggernaut, Raymond van Barneveld will not take part in the season’s first major, a decision that immediately stirred speculation and murmured concern.
At first glance, the assumption was physical. Time, after all, leaves its fingerprints on everyone. But the reality, as so often with Barney, is more considered, more pragmatic, and far less dramatic than the whispers suggested.
The 58-year-old addressed the situation with characteristic candour, acknowledging discomfort but stripping it of theatre. “I’ve got a bit of a twinge in my lower back and after the Worlds I’ve hardly picked up a dart. I also only got back yesterday from a 14-day holiday in Thailand. But that’s not really it,” he explained in an interview with Tubantia. The body, then, was not the deciding factor. The calendar was.
The five time World Champion had already committed himself elsewhere before the competitive landscape fully revealed itself. “Before the PDC calendar came out, I accepted two exhibitions with the FC Twente business club,” he said, referencing obligations tied to FC Twente that would run directly across the World Masters qualifying window.
The collision of dates forced a calculation devoid of romance but rich in realism. “Then you do the math: two days at FC Twente, where I can earn good money, or nothing at all if you don’t survive qualifying. I chose the former.” It was not defiance. It was arithmetic.
The structure of the World Masters leaves little margin for sentiment. Automatic qualification is reserved for the top 24 on the Order of Merit. Outside that sanctuary, opportunity must be fought for. As world number 36, van Barneveld would have needed to navigate three qualifying matches simply to reach the main draw. Lose early, and the return is modest. Progress, and the numbers improve – but only incrementally. £750 for a first stumble. £1,000 for a second. £2,500 for a third-round exit. Reach the stage proper, and £5,000 is secured. Risk versus reward, laid bare.
It should be noted that Barney has always had the reputation of taking the bird in the hand financially rather than possibles from winning matches.
Faced with certainty on one side and volatility on the other, Barney chose stability. The decision does not signal retreat, nor does it hint at farewell. It is a veteran managing exposure, energy, and economics with eyes wide open.
The oche will not wait long. Barring further disruption, the next chapter arrives at the opening Players Championship double-header in Hildesheim on February 9th and 10th.
This was not absence through weakness. It was absence through choice.
——ENDS——
Images: PDC
