Vincent van der Voort has voiced serious concerns about Raymond van Barneveld's form, describing the five-time world champion's current struggles as "painful" for long-time darts followers. Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast alongside Damian Vlottes, Van der Voort dissected Van Barneveld's recent 6-3 first-round defeat to Mike Kuivenhoven at the Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel.
"When you see the way he loses, it's simply not good," Van der Voort said. "Kuivenhoven was actually kind to let it finish 6-3." The former UK Open finalist added: "If you'd said years ago that Van Barneveld was coming on stage, followed by Kuivenhoven... All respect to Mike, because he's having a fantastic year, but with Raymond you used to know he wouldn't lose that match." Van der Voort believes the 59-year-old from The Hague has lost the "win at all costs" mentality that once made him a formidable presence on stage.
According to Van der Voort, Van Barneveld's practice form is not the issue—it's the transition to the match stage. "He expects to throw the same way he does in his warm-up," Van der Voort explained. "So you step on stage and it doesn't happen straight away. Then you can do one of two things. You can think, 'How can this be? What's going on now?' and your throw gets even weaker. That's what he does. Or you can simply think, 'I need to put more power into my throw.'" Van der Voort suggested Van Barneveld needs to "play with more authority" and make his presence felt, adding: "You can hit as many 180s as you like in your warm-up."
The former Premier League player also highlighted the difference between warm-up rooms and the main stage. "People don't realise that a warm-up room feels very different from the stage," he said. "When you walk on stage in a large, high-ceilinged hall, the board seems far away. It can even look as if it's hanging high up. There might be carpet that you sink into. It feels different." He recalled his own experiences: "I've seen it in the Premier League. You're in a small room with the players, with two boards set up, and you're throwing together. Then you go into an arena with 10,000 people. In that little room, everything can seem very close. Then you walk on stage and suddenly the board seems far away."
Van der Voort cited Jelle Klaasen and Mervyn King as players who sometimes stood further from the board during warm-up to replicate stage conditions. "In a room like that, everything seems closer and more compact. So you stand a little further back. But you have to be able to handle that yourself," he said. He added: "I've stood on a stage and thought, 'Oh no, that looks a long way away.' Then you feel as though you've been throwing from the wrong distance the whole time. You just hope that, at some point, you find your feel."
With Van Barneveld hovering around the cut-off for direct World Championship qualification, Van der Voort stressed the importance of recent opportunities. "It had to happen in Belgium and here," he said. "If you draw Jim Long and Kuivenhoven and are beaten fairly comfortably by both, that is worrying." He continued: "It's still painful to watch. I think it's painful for anyone who has been following darts for a long time. You don't want to see this from such a great player."
Van der Voort acknowledged that older players often struggle with the demands of long ProTour days but insisted the stage should be Van Barneveld's territory. "You get older. You have to get up early and head straight to the venue. That gets a little harder. But the stage should be his territory," he said. "I think he has three hundred times more stage experience than Kuivenhoven. He has lost that entire advantage. It's still hard to watch."
