'Does he have the drive, desire' - Chris Mason questions van Barneveld's recent form: 'I'm not sure what he's got left.'

Inconsistency costing Barney a shot at the top

On his seniors debut, van Barneveld was the heavy favourite to win the title, ahead of the likes of Steve Beaton and Mervin King. Despite this, he failed to claw his way past the semi-final stage, losing out to eventual winner Ross Montgomery 6-3.

The drop off in averages between his quarter-final and semi-final caught the eye of Mason, who critiqued the Dutchman's inconsistency on the oche. Van Barneveld's average sank from a respectable 96 to a below-par 83.

"Interestingly, the fact that he got involved with the seniors and played in the Champions of Champions, and played well against Neil Duff, he had a 96 average," Mason said. "You would think he's going to need something in and around there, but he needs to do it consistently, and in his next game he averaged 83 which [the drop off] is too much. We always talk about that range and it's too big."

The commentator did praise Barney's throwing action, but also noticed a fault with it, as he said: "You never know with Raymond, the throw looks silky smooth still, there is one thing I noticed at the weekend, it's just got a bit loopy."

Van Barneveld has a critical period coming up, with him sitting one spot outside the cut-off for the upcoming World Grand Prix and European Championships. If he wants to compete with the best, he needs to get some positive results to get him into these major events.