Raymond van Barneveld says his old foe Phil Taylor will be backing him all the way at the World Darts Championship, with the Power sending him lots of messages of support.
Barney enjoyed his finest run of results on the oche for years last month when he reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts, which was enough to make him the 32nd seed at Alexandra Palace this month.
During that run to the semis in Wolverhampton, which ended in defeat to eventual champion Michael Smith, Van Barneveld revealed that his old rival had been in touch.
Their days of slugging it out on the oche are over and now it is all love between the two, with the Power hoping the Dutchman can triumph again.
‘He’s there all the time,’ Van Barneveld said during the Grand Slam. ‘“’He’s giving me text messages like “‘you can do this buddy, I believe in you”. He doesn’t need to do this, he’s the best darts player ever.
‘“’We had many fights and many games and he’s behind me and that gives me an incredible feeling. I don’t want to disappoint this man, my family or future wife. I’m so happy, you can’t describe this in words.’
Barney says the support will keep coming when he gets to Alexandra Palace, where he will take on either Ryan Meikle or Lisa Ashton in his first match on Tuesday 20 December.
‘I saw him at an exhibition last week and he said he’d keep sending me these things. It [the messages] was completely out of the blue but I really enjoyed it,’ said the 55-year-old.
‘It’s not that he does it all the time but he loves it when I’m playing well. I’ve got a fan, a supporter, so brilliant!’
Barney beat former world champion Gerwyn Price in the group stage and quarter-finals en route to the Grand Slam semis last month.
If both men win their opening games in north London they will meet in a blockbuster third round match after Christmas at the World Championship.
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