Luke Littler’s childhood hero, Raymond van Barneveld, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Stefan Bellmont in the first round of the World Darts Championship. Van Barneveld, a five-time World Champion and one of the most decorated players in darts history, was unable to replicate his former glory.
Despite being a former world number one and boasting victories over Phil ‘the Power’ Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, the Dutchman was outplayed by Bellmont. The 58-year-old started strong with an impressive 14-dart leg, but it was downhill from there. Bellmont, who had never won a set at Alexandra Palace prior to this match, suddenly found his form. He claimed six consecutive legs to take the first two sets and leave Van Barneveld visibly shaken.
Despite a respectable average of 92.50, higher than Bellmont’s 91.36, the Dutch legend couldn’t keep up. The disparity was particularly evident when it came to doubles.
Van Barneveld managed to convert only two of his eight attempts, while Bellmont succeeded nine times out of 23. Each miss seemed to hit Van Barneveld hard, his disappointment palpable as Bellmont secured victory with a double four.
Littler, who idolised Van Barneveld as a child, may well have been left disappointed by his hero’s comprehensive defeat. The World No. 1 memorably clashed with Van Barneveld during the last 16 of the 2024 World Championship, a tournament which propelled the teenager to the final at just 16 years old, before ultimately falling to Luke Humphries.
Prior to their showdown with the Dutch maestro, Littler disclosed how he would copy Van Barneveld’s iconic walk-on as a young child. The current world champion recalled: « I used to imitate him (Van Barneveld) all the time. Stood in my nappy celebrating like Barney. »
Yet shortly following their encounter, tensions seemingly emerged between Van Barneveld and Littler. The veteran told Sportnieuws.nl: « So that’s the weird thing about it. I understood then that I am his example. That at the World Championship you don’t chat I can understand. But other tournaments. The other day I walked up to him to shake his hand. Then he took out his earplug for a moment and only said the most necessary thing. »
Van Barneveld also claimed he messaged Littler following the youngster’s Belgium Open triumph, but received no response. Subsequently, Van Barneveld engaged in a clarifying discussion with Littler’s former manager Martin Foulds, suggesting the article might have suffered in translation from Dutch to English.
When questioned about ‘Barney’s remarks in March 2024, Littler responded: « He messaged my manager Martin and said: ‘Don’t listen to them.’ He messaged us and said, I didn’t say anything. »
Littler is set to return to the oche for his second round match this Sunday, where he will face off against David Davis, who balances his darts career with his role as an NHS area manager.
Source link
