Raymond van Barneveld Worries Fans With What He Did After World Championship Loss

Raymond van Barneveld was visibly emotional after losing 3-0 to Switzerland's Stefan Bellmont at the World Darts Championship - with fans believing he could retire from the sport.

Van Barneveld won just two legs in the entirety of his first round match against Bellmont, who is ranked 111th in the PDC Order of Merit.

The 2007 world champion has lost his opening match at Alexandra Palace two years in succession, having been defeated by Nick Kenny in last year's tournament.

Van Barneveld was visibly emotional on stage as the match against Bellmont reached its conclusion, and there was an air of resignation about the Dutchman after he missed an attempted 142 checkout to save the third set.

As he walked off the stage, 'Barney' appeared to wipe his right eye with his sleeve - with fans worried that they may have seen the last of the now 58-year-old darts legend at Alexandra Palace.

One fan wrote: "Barneveld a sad shadow of his former self tonight at the Ally Pally."

A second said: "Saddens me to see Barney like this, been my favourite player since his BDO days."

A third added: "Time to call it a day Barney. What a fantastic career he's had but the game's up."

While a fourth stated: "Barney needs to consider retirement, he's done and from his facial expression he knows it too."

Van Barneveld retired from the PDC for the first time at the end of the 2020 World Championship, with his final match seeing him lose to USA's Darin Young in the second round.

The Dutchman returned at the beginning of 2021 after coming through Q-School, and quickly re-established himself within the top 32 of the Order of Merit.

This season, though, hasn't been particularly successful, with the five-time world champion dropping out of the top 32 and therefore being unseeded for round one.

Van Barneveld did average a respectable 92 against Bellmont but only managed eight attempts at double, hitting two of them.

He has already confirmed that he will cut back his workload next season, telling Sportnieuws.nl in May: "Starting next year, I really need to slow things down. It's all becoming a bit too much.

"Maybe cut back on the Pro Tours. I'll keep playing in the Euro Tours as long as I'm in the top 16. But let's be honest, the schedule is madness. It barely leaves any time to rest."