Dutch darts master Raymond van Barneveld is one of the world’s leading players of the sport, having won numerous tournaments, including four World Championships and two World Masters titles. Turning professional in the late 1980s, van Barneveld has travelled the world winning major titles and nationwide opens, establishing himself as the world’s top player on several occasions.
Having started playing darts when he was just 17 years old, van Barneveld became noticed by the darts community when he reached the 1996 World Championship final, only to be beaten by Richie Burnett. The success of the tournament lead van Barneveld to win the Belgian Open twice, the Finnish Open, Norway Open and Sweden Open, all before the turn of the century.
The end of the 1990s also saw van Barneveld become the World Champion with victories in 1998 and 1999, setting him up for a successful career throughout the 2000s. It wasn’t until 2001 that van Barneveld saw his next major title, the World Masters, before winning three major titles in 2003. The World Championship, World Masters and International Darts League.
2003 was arguably the best year for the darts player, seeing him win numerous titles, before again winning further majors in 2004 and 2005, the year when he won his fourth, and most recent, World Championship. The following year van Barneveld switched over to the PDC darts organization, seeing him come head-to-head with Phil Taylor, the reigning champion.
Since switching over, van Barneveld has only added the International Darts League to his major titles, but he has won numerous other competitions including the Masters of Darts, World Cup of Darts and numerous Players Championships around the world.
