Saturday, December 25, 2021
“Barney” tested positive
For darts star, things get even harder after Aus
Raymond van Barneveld returns to the big stage after the end of his career, but after a solid performance at the World Cup, the darts legend quickly ends again. But after the second round match, the Dutchman tests positive. That can be bitter for the opponent.
The five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld tested positive for the corona virus after his second round defeat at the Darts World Cup. The Dutchman announced this late on Christmas Eve via Twitter. In the match against ex-world champion Rob Cross on Christmas day, he had not yet felt any symptoms, wrote van Barneveld, meanwhile he was suffering from shortness of breath, fever and severe fatigue.
“We have already spoken to Rob Cross and the PDC about the situation,” wrote van Barneveld, who will be in quarantine in London for the next few days. The darts association PDC has not yet commented on the consequences of the positive test. After the Christmas break, the Alexandra Palace will continue on December 27th (Monday). Cross is due to play against Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney on Tuesday.
Van Barneveld had ended his short break on the darts tour at the beginning of the season, at the PDC World Championship, which he won five times and most recently in 2007, he only had one win this year. A few hours before the news of his positive test, “Barney” assured his fans that he was “still motivated” and wanted to come back “stronger next year”.
“He’s a legend and played like a champion in the first set, but once I got my bearings I had the game to beat him,” commented Cross after his win. Although the 2018 world champion is English, the almost 3,000 fans stood behind van Barneveld and thus formed the famous “Barney Army” that has accompanied the 54-year-old for many seasons. “I haven’t seen an atmosphere like this in years,” said Cross. Only when he equalized the 0-1 deficit did it get a little quieter in the cheerful beer hall.
In 2019, “Barney” ended his career in a deeply disappointed manner after a first round defeat at the World Cup. “If you lose two years in a row in the first round, then you are an amateur. Then you don’t belong in this game anymore. I’ll tell myself that until the end of my life,” said van Barneveld at the time.