Three times in seven years, Raymond van Barneveld has stood at the same crossroads. May 2019 — he walked away in Rotterdam after a Premier League mauling, reversed the decision inside twenty-four hours. December 2019 — he lost to an American CDC-circuit player at Alexandra Palace, told the cameras he didn’t belong at this level anymore, and said he would hate himself every single day. Nine months later, he was back. February 2021 — he won his Tour Card back at Q-School, beat Joe Cullen in his third event, and his thirty-third World Championship followed five years on.
Now, in early 2026, he has announced a break. The word this time is not retirement. The framing is softer. But the evidence around it has never been more damning.
The 2026 World Championship produced a nil-three whitewash against Stefan Bellmont, ranked 111th — the same player who knocked him out at Q-School five years earlier. His music cut out mid-entrance. Twice. He told Viaplay on camera that on the practice board he was a five-time world champion, maybe even ten-time, but that during matches it simply wasn’t going his way — and that he didn’t know why. Weeks later, the 2026 Premier League was announced. His name wasn’t on it.
Vincent van der Voort, on a Dutch podcast in 2025, said what many were thinking: he just doesn’t belong there anymore. The PDC omission said the same thing, differently.
The question every darts fan is asking, for the third or fourth time, is whether this one is finally real.
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