Raymond van Barneveld

Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Barney", although originally known as "The Man", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest darts players of all time. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champion (four-time BDO and one-time PDC), a two-time UK Open Champion and a former winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League. He is also a twice-winner of the World Masters and the World Darts Trophy, and a three-time winner of the International Darts League, the Dutch Open and the WDF World Cup Singles event.

Van Barneveld won the PDC World Cup of Darts four times (once with Co Stompé and three times with Michael van Gerwen) and the WDF World Cup Pairs once (with Vincent van der Voort), all whilst representing and captaining the Netherlands. He also won the PDC World Pairs with Roland Scholten.

From January to June 2008, he was the world's number one ranked player. His victory over Phil Taylor in the 2007 PDC World Championship final, added to his four previous BDO World Championships brought him level with Eric Bristow as a five-time world champion; he is one of only three players in darts history to achieve this.

He is one of the most successful darts players in history, and has had a significant effect in raising the popularity of darts in the Netherlands. He is naturally left-handed but throws darts with his right hand.

In November 2018, Van Barneveld announced his intention to retire from darts after the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship. On 28 March 2019, following a 7–1 defeat to Michael van Gerwen in his final Premier League match, he announced his retirement with immediate effect, but reversed his decision the following day. He retired again following his first-round exit from the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship. In February 2021, 14 months after retiring, he regained his professional tour card after qualifying at the PDC's Q-School.