Wednesday 3 April 2019 12:00, UK
Raymond van Barneveld must “get back on the bike” after his Premier League Darts elimination, says Wayne Mardle.
The Dutch legend lost consecutive matches in Rotterdam last week, to Daryl Gurney and Michael van Gerwen, bringing a premature end to his final season in the tournament.
He then announced his retirement before retracting it, and now plans to quit after the next World Championship in January 2020.
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"It was only five months ago that he beat Van Gerwen over best-of-19 in the World Series final," Mardle told The Darts Show podcast.
"We were wondering if he would win one or two legs against Van Gerwen last Thursday. His form has gone so quickly.
"Now he's not playing every Thursday, it will give him time to relax and practice whenever he wants.
"He has to get back on the bike, keep peddling away, and hopefully he will qualify for the Worlds."
Van Barneveld was overcome with emotion throughout his final two Premier League matches in his home country last week.
"At the start of the night, you could see he was down," Mardle said. "He was feeling emotional way before the game against Michael. He was annihilated on Wednesday, which didn't help.
"He had tears in his eyes before his walk-on. There was something really emotional about it, and he just couldn't pull it together.
"It's not easy to just walk away.
"He's a five-time world champion, not someone you expect to be beaten in the first or second round."
The Premier League continues as we head to the SSE Arena in Belfast on Thursday, April 4. You can also stay up-to-date with all the action by following us @SkySportsDarts and get all the latest news, previews and interviews www.skysports.com/darts
