The world of darts has changed a lot in the last two decades.
It has grown from being a largely fringe sport with a couple of big events and some memorable characters to something capable of selling out huge arenas up and down the country.
A lot of that is due to the increased entertainment and investment following the PDC breakaway, which is a whole different beast to the BDO.
Many of the sport’s elite performers have switched sides, with BDO and PDC world champion Raymond van Barneveld among the most high-profile.
But the Dutchman, who won the sport’s 2014 Premier League, revealed to JOE he had his reservations when he made the move and wasn’t sure the added entertainment was entirely necessary.
Speaking to JOE courtesy of Premier League sponsors Betway, Barney admitted the difference between the two factions took him by surprise, especially with the famed walk-ons on the PDC side.
“When I was at the BDO the walk-on was just a walk-on, so for me and the other players who came across it was a bit of a shock,” he admits.
“Fans just come up with their hands out and want to shake your hand – there are some guys who will even try to squeeze your hand!
“I was actually a bit frightened that something serious could happen in the walk-on!”
The Dutchman remembers playing tournaments in front of just 50 or 60 audience members, so, despite his initial doubts, he’s keen to praise the PDC for bringing “something different.
“I was thinking for me it wasn’t necessary, but it’s all part of it,” he says.
“PDC are doing a really good job there, and they always try to do new things.”
Of course, with huge crowds, especially in the groundhopping Premier League, having the fans on-side can be crucial.
While not exactly fickle, fans don’t have the same partisan element as in other sports – something which Van Barneveld reveals has actually encouraged Dutch venues to ban fans wearing football shirts to darts tournaments.
There’s no danger of anything like that in the UK, of course, where you’ll regularly encounter supporters of rival Premier League teams exchanging banter in the crowd, not to mention the Kolo/Yaya Toure chant in abundance.
But British and Irish venues embrace this aspect, leading to vocal support for whoever is competing…although they obviously have their favourites.
“If you play against an English player [in England] it can always be hard as maybe the crowd will take sides, but a lot of them treat it as a night out and don’t take as much of an interest in who wins as in other sports,” Van Barneveld explains.
“There was one game where I was 5-1 up and the crowd were all singing ‘Barney Army’, then I went 6-5 down and they started singing ‘Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land’. For them it’s just a night out but for me I want to win.”
The quality of darts has improved hugely as the Premier League has grown, so much so that Van Barneveld says the standard is “just not normal any more”.
“The other day Michael Smith won a game 6-0 with 12, 11, 11, 11, 12, 11 – that’s just perfection. And he didn’t even win the tournament!” he says.
“It’s so close that everyone can beat each other. Now, maybe Phil Taylor didn’t play his best [against me] but he was then the runner up on Friday in the UK Open and the winner on Sunday.”
This year’s Premier League is just two weeks old, and Barney has begun his quest for a second title with a win and a loss from his first two outings.
The man from Den Haag recorded the highest average in week one as he demolished Taylor 7-2, only to suffer a 5-7 reverse against Peter Wright in Newcastle last time out.
Next up is a meeting with Robert Thornton at Dublin’s 3Arena, but the Dutchman knows there are no easy games.
The weekend after winning the Premier League outright in 2014, he suffered two first-round exits in tournaments elsewhere in the UK, so he’s well aware of the need to be on your game at all times.
“I remember in my first year I beat Roland Scholten in two league matches, 8-3 and 8-3, and then in the semi-final he beat me 11-3,” he says.
“Sometimes it’s just who is in form on the day, and it was just my night in 2014.”
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