Vincent van der Voort has expressed stark concern over Raymond van Barneveld's form, bluntly stating that the five-time world champion's current level is not good enough for the PDC. Van Barneveld's absence from the Euro Tour in Poland, marking the first time in a long while he missed a regular Euro Tour weekend, highlighted his sporting decline, as he failed to qualify automatically or via the qualifier for the circuit's opening block.
Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort, a former pro and close friend, emphasized it's about performance, not sentiment. "Is it missing him? Yes? I grew up with Raymond as a top player. He kept getting better and became the best in the Netherlands, but seeing him like this feels more difficult than that I miss him," he said. Van der Voort would rather see a battling Van Barneveld competing for trophies, noting, "That he's up there to win again and only afterwards decides whether it was good or bad. Sometimes now, after just two warm-up visits, he starts complaining. I don't miss it if I don't have to see that anymore."
The numbers back up Van der Voort's assessment. Van Barneveld made a poor start to the season and has barely won any matches so far, with Van der Voort revealing, "I think he's only won one round." He did qualify for Euro Tour 3 and 4, meaning he will return to action this spring on the second tier of the PDC circuit, which Van der Voort called "very important" because "the rest of his season start is awful."
Van der Voort delivered a harsh verdict on Van Barneveld's averages: "In the last five/six matches he hasn't topped an 82 average. That's really the bottom, you know. An 80 average, lots of players can do that. Then you'll regularly get a hiding. Then you've got no business at the PDC. You must throw ninety-plus on the Tour. Right now he's ten points under that, which is a lot." He concluded that if Van Barneveld wants to be relevant at the highest level, his average must rise significantly, as an average below ninety is not enough to compete consistently in the current PDC field. The upcoming Euro Tours will therefore be not only a sporting challenge, but possibly also a barometer for his future on the pro circuit.
