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Raymond 'Barney' van Barneveld

Born in Den Haag, Netherlands in 1967, Raymond van Barneveld took a while to make his mark on the sport after the top players left the BDO and formed the WDC (later the PDC) in 1992. His first BDO World Championship final came in 1995 with a 3-6 defeat to Richie Burnett, though he suffered disappointing 2nd round exits in both 1996 and 1997.

1998 saw the former postman finally capture the BDO World Championship by exacting revenge on Burnett in the final with a classic sudden-death victory, proving that this was no flash in the pan a year later by becoming only the second player in history to retain the title. Two further titles followed, and by the time he defected to the PDC in 2006, 'Barney' had picked up 2 World Masters, 2 World Darts Trophies and 3 International Darts League titles in addition to his 4 World titles.

Barneveld announced his arrival in the PDC by picking up the 2006 UK Open title, following that success up with this year's World Championship in a now infamous battle with Phil Taylor.

Previous UK Open Performances
2003	N/A
2004	N/A
2005	N/A
2006	Champion
2007	Champion

The Dutchman's success over the last decade is widely regarded as a key factor in the sport's popularity in his homeland where young players are now carefully nurtured as the search for 'the next Raymond van barneveld' continues. 'Barney' will be competing for titles for years to come and this likeable Dutchman continued his fairy-tale start to life as a PDC player by becoming the first player to retain the UK Open in 2007.

Having defeated a host of quality players, including John Part, Phil Taylor and Colin Lloyd, Barney brushed aside the challenge of Vincent van der Voort in the final as his amazing success as a PDC player continued and his fascinating rivalry with Taylor took its latest twist.

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