Raymond van Barneveld (born April 20, 1967 in The Hague, Netherlands), nickname Barney and The Man, is a professional darts player. He is the current PDC World Darts Champion, UK Open Champion & the Las Vegas Desert Classic Champion. is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Coordinates: , Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 98. ... For the British doo-wop revival band of the 1970s and 1980s, see Darts (band). ... The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation, established in the United Kingdom during 1992 which split from the officially-recognised British Darts Organisation. ...

His victory in the 2007 final, added to his four previous BDO Championships brought him level with Eric Bristow as a five-time world champion. He is the most successful Dutch darts player ever, and has a significant effect in putting the game of darts on the map in The Netherlands. The Ladbrokes. ... The BDO World Darts Championship began in 1978, when it was held at the Heart of the Midlands Nightclub in the English city of Nottingham. ... Eric Bristow MBE (The Crafty Cockney) (born Hackney, London, 25 April 1957) is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport. ... Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain...

BDO career

Barneveld's first World Championship appearance came in 1991 playing in the Embassy World Championship at the Lakeside Country Club, but his first round match ended in a 0-3 defeat to Australian Keith Sullivan. The BDO World Darts Championship began in 1978, when it was held at the Heart of the Midlands Nightclub in the English city of Nottingham. ... The Lakeside Country Club is a hotel, entertainment and leisure complex in Frimley Green near Camberley in Surrey. ...

He started to make some progress on the British Darts Organisation circuit, reaching the quarter-finals of the Belgian Open in September 1990 and the German Open in March 1991. His first semi-final came at the Swiss Open in June 1991. It has been suggested that Other BDO tournaments be merged into this article or section. ...

He failed to qualify for the World Championship in 1992, but made it back to Lakeside in 1993, which would be the last time that a unified World Championship would be staged. Barneveld lost in a close match 2-3 to John Lowe, who would go on to win the championship. Shortly after the 1993 World Final, the top players in the game at the time formed the World Darts Council (WDC, now the PDC) and left the BDO. John Lowe (born in New Tupton, Derbyshire on 21 July 1945) was one of the main competitors who made darts such a huge spectator sport in the 1970s and 1980s. ... The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation, established in the United Kingdom during 1992 which split from the officially-recognised British Darts Organisation. ...

Barneveld continued to make progress in the BDO Open events in 1994 after the split, reaching the quarter-finals at the Dutch Open and Berlin Open, the semi-final at the Belgium Open and his first final, at the Finnish Open where he lost to Andy Fordham. Andy Fordham (born February 2, 1962 in London) is an English darts player, also known by his nickname, The Viking. ...

He continued his good run of form into the 1995 World Championship by putting out Les Wallace, Dave Askew, Colin Monk and Martin Adams to reach his first World Final. But it ended in defeat 3-6 to Welshman Richie Burnett. Les Wallace (born 1962) is a Scottish-born, former World Champion darts player. ... Dave Askew (born April 3, 1963 in Redhill, Surrey) is an English darts player who competes in the Professional Darts Corporation. ... Martin Adams (born 1956) is an English darts player. ... This article is about the country. ... Richie Burnett (born February 7, 1967 in Cwymparc, Rhondda) is a former World Champion, Welsh darts player. ...

After second round defeats in 1996 and 1997, the former postman took his first world title in 1998 by beating Richie Burnett in a repeat of the 1995 final. This match however is often listed amongst the greatest of all-time having gone to a sudden death leg when the match score reached 5-5 in sets and 5-5 in legs. A Melbourne Postie riding a walkthrough A postman (sometimes known as a mailman or letter carrier in North America and a postie in Australia) delivers the post (sometimes known as mail in North America. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

He successfully defended the trophy one year later by the same winning margin, this time against Ronnie Baxter of England. He is only the second player in the tournament's history to have launched a successful defence of his title; the other being Eric Bristow. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Eric Bristow MBE (The Crafty Cockney) (born Hackney, London, 25 April 1957) is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport. ...

His run of success ended in the first round in 2000, crashing out to Chris Mason, who averaged 100 and ended Barneveld's hopes of a hat-trick of titles. Chris Mason (born 17 December 1967) is an English darts player from Bristol. ... The BDO World Darts Championship began in 1978, when it was held at the Heart of the Midlands Nightclub in the English city of Nottingham. ... In sports, a hat-trick (more often rendered in North America as hat trick, without the hyphen) is associated with achieving something in a group of three. ...

Barneveld lost in the quarter-finals in 2001 (4-5 to Ted Hankey) and 2002 (3-5 to Mervyn King) before returning to the final in 2003. He clinched his third world title by beating Richie Davies of Wales 6-3. Edward Ted Hankey (born February 20, 1968) is an English darts player who won the BDO World Championship in 2000. ... Mervyn The King King (born March 15, 1966) is a professional darts player. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the country. ...

His 2004 campaign ended in the semi-finals, when Andy Fordham beat him 5-4 in another memorable match. Andy Fordham (born February 2, 1962 in London) is an English darts player, also known by his nickname, The Viking. ...

A fourth title followed in 2005. He never dropped a set in the first three rounds as he beat Gary Anderson, Mike Veitch and Vincent van der Voort. A 5-3 semi-final win over Darryl Fitton and 6-2 triumph over Martin Adams of England) in the final brought him that fourth title. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Barneveld reached his sixth final in 2006, and was aiming to equal Eric Bristow's record of five BDO world titles. On this occasion however, his hopes were ended by 21 year-old fellow countryman Jelle Klaasen who prevailed 7-5. Eric Bristow MBE (The Crafty Cockney) (born Hackney, London, 25 April 1957) is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport. ... Klaasen with the Lakeside World Trophy 2006 Jelle Klaasen (nicknamed Young Matador) (born 17 October 1984) is a professional darts player from Alphen, North Brabant, Netherlands. ...

He has also won the prestigious Winmau World Masters title twice: once in 2001 when he recorded a win in the final over Jarkko Komula of Finland and again in 2005 when he beat Goran Klemme in the final. Other major darts tournaments that he has won at least twice include The World Darts Trophy and The International Darts League. Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

PDC career

See article: Taylor-Barneveld rivalry Although Phil Taylor and Raymond Van Barneveld are good friends which they regulary show at the end of games, they have a feirce rivalry to try and gain dominaince over one another and show who is the greatest dart player. ...

After playing in the BDO for fifteen years, winning four World Championships, van Barneveld announced his move from the BDO to the PDC on 15 February 2006. He cited his reasons as wanting a greater challenge, and regularly playing against players like Phil Taylor^[1]. He had an incredible first year in the PDC, having started from scratch in the rankings. Within twelve months he had reached World number two and became World Champion. It has been suggested that Other BDO tournaments be merged into this article or section. ... The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation, established in the United Kingdom during 1992 which split from the officially-recognised British Darts Organisation. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Philip Douglas Taylor (born August 13, 1960) is a multi world champion darts player. ...

His PDC debut came in the 2006 Premier League competition. He won his first match convincingly 8-1 against Ronnie Baxter. On March 23 he hit his first televised nine dart finish and faced Phil Taylor later in the same night, fighting back for a 7-7 draw. The re-match came on Barneveld's 39th birthday, but this time Taylor won the deciding leg for an 8-6 victory. Van Barneveld suffered a surprise 11-3 semi-final defeat in the Premier League to fellow Dutchman Roland Scholten. The 2006 Holsten Premier League the second year of the Professional Darts Corporations popular darts league. ... Ronnie Baxter (born 1961) is an English darts player. ... is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A nine dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. ... Philip Douglas Taylor (born August 13, 1960) is a multi world champion darts player. ... The Dutch (Ethnonym: Nederlanders meaning Lowlanders) are the dominant ethnic group[1] of the Netherlands[2]. They are usually seen as a Germanic people. ... Roland Scholten (born January 11, 1965 in The Hague) is a Dutch darts player and former publican who, with partner Raymond Van Barneveld, won the PDC World Pairs Darts Championship at Bognor Regis in 1997. ...

Van Barneveld then started a very successful run with a 13-5 final victory over Colin Lloyd in the final of the International Darts League for his 11th BDO Grand Slam tournament. He won his first major PDC title in June by beating Barrie Bates in the final of the UK Open at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton. Earlier in the day, he beat Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals, accomplishing one of his dreams which he announced after switching to the PDC. Van Barneveld beat Taylor again just weeks later in the semi-finals of the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic. He lost 6-3 to Canadian John Part in the final the following day. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The UK Open (nicknamed The FA Cup of darts due to the fact that the minnows can come up against the big boys) is an innovative event where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, 128 players compete live in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. ... The Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook retail park in Horwich, near Bolton. ... , Bolton is a large town in the traditional county of Lancashire more recently changed to be part of Greater Manchester, in North West England. ... Philip Douglas Taylor (born August 13, 1960) is a multi world champion darts player. ... // Champion £15,000 Runner-up £7,500 Semi Finalists £5,000 Quarter Finalists £3,500 Second Round Losers £2,000 First Round Losers £1,350 Wednesday 28th June 2006 First to six legs Thursday 29th June 2006 Best of five sets, five legs per set Friday 30th June 2006 Best... John Part (born June 29, 1966 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple. ...

Soon after this Barneveld made alterations to his game, he changed darts and began using the "stacking" technique used by Phil Taylor. The darts used were a gram lighter than his old ones and cost the equivalent of £1 from a local store in Holland.

After losing in the first round of the 2006 Bavaria World Trophy to rising talent Michael van Gerwen, van Barneveld acknowledged that he needed to work on his finishing throws. Although he played well in the Sky Bet World Grand Prix, he lost to Phil Taylor in the second round. Michael van Gerwen (born April 25, 1989 in Boxtel, Netherlands) is a Dutch professional darts player. ... The SkyBet World Grand Prix is a PDC darts tournament now held in Dublin each October. ...

Van Barneveld and Taylor met again in the 2007 PDC World Championship final, in a match which Taylor later described as the best final he had been involved in. Van Barneveld came back from 3 sets down to beat Taylor 7-6 in the sudden death leg in one of the greatest darts matches of all time to match Eric Bristow's record of five world titles. In February 2007 Raymond won the 2007 Masters of Darts tournament by beating Peter Manley 7-0 in sets in the final. His success has also continued away from the cameras. The Ladbrokes. ... The Masters of Darts is a unique darts tournament as it was the first televised confrontation between the darts players of the two rival organisations, the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). ... Peter Manley (born 7th March 1962) is a player for the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). ...

In the 2007 Premier League Darts, he never fared as well as he did in 2006, losing to Phil Taylor twice, Dennis Priestley and Colin Lloyd in the group section. He did however manage to finish second but lost an exciting but error filled encounter 10-11 to Terry Jenkins in the semi-final. The Holsten Premier League is a darts tournament which launched on January 20, 2005, on Sky Sports. ... Philip Douglas Taylor (born August 13, 1960) is a multi world champion darts player. ... Dennis Priestley (born July 16, 1950 in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, is a two-time World Darts Champion, one for the BDO and one for the PDC and is nicknamed The Menace. Known for his slow style of play and tremendous mental strength, he is considered as one of the great... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Terry Jenkins (born 26 September 1963) is an professional English darts player who was born in Ledbury, Herefordshire and is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname Tucker for his matches. ...

Barneveld made amends for his disappointing Premier League campaign however by inflicting one of Taylor's heaviest defeats (11-4) in the quarter-final of the 2007 UK Open and went on to successfully defend his title beating Colin Lloyd 11-4 in the semi-final and Vincent van der Voort in the final 16-8. In doing this, Barneveld became the first person to successfully defend the UK Open crown. A month later, he continued his surge of major titles by beating Terry Jenkins 13 legs to 6 in the final of the 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic. Barneveld's dream of winning the five major PDC tournament titles in 2007- the World Championship, UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix- ended on Thursday 26th July, when he was defeated by Adrian Lewis 16 legs to 14 in the quarter finals of the World Matchplay in Blackpool. Vincent van der Voort (born December 18, 1975 in Purmerend) is a darts player from The Netherlands. ... Terry Jenkins (born 26 September 1963) is an professional English darts player who was born in Ledbury, Herefordshire and is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname Tucker for his matches. ... The 2007 PartyPoker. ...

His haul of titles in the PDC has continued to grow since his switch. In addition to his four major titles (the World Championship, two UK Open Championships and the Vegas Desert Classic) - he has added nine non-televised PDC Pro Tour titles (four UK Open Regionals and five Players Championships). // 1 - Raymond van Barneveld battles from 3 sets to 0 down to win his first PDC Title and fifth world title overall 7-6 in the sudden-death leg versus Phil Taylor who maintains his record of reaching every single PDC World Championship final to date. ...

Barney Army

Barneveld now gets chants of 'Barney Army', which is a play on the England cricket team's nickname 'Barmy Army' as a result of the Dutchman's popularity since he joined the PDC in early 2006 and England's disappointing performances in the 2006 Ashes. The Barmy Army chanting at the Sydney Cricket Ground The Barmy Army is an organised group of cricket fans which organises touring parties of its members to follow the English cricket team on all of its overseas tours. ...

References

1. ^ Barneveld's reasons for switching to PDC

External links

• Raymond van Barneveld web site

Wikinews has related news:

Raymond van Barneveld wins PDC World Darts Championship