Beginning of Barney's time

It was 30 years ago to the day that I auditioned for a job commentating on the Inter-Counties knockout tournament in Sheffield.

That day I saw a Durham guy throwing big, fat panatella darts take out the pride of the Welsh national team, and my passion and enthusiasm got me the job.

Here we are three decades on, I've been with Sky Sports 13 years now and I can honestly say I've never been more excited about a darts tournament. This is the best field I've ever seen at a time when darts has never been so hyped - and for good reason.

I was looking at the stats from the 1994 BDO world championships the other day. John Part, the winner that year, had a tournament average of 87 and threw eight 180s. By today's standards, that is laughable.

And in what other sport could you have the possibility of an 18-year-old - Michael van Gerwen - taking on a 59-year-old - Bob Anderson - and give both a chance of winning? Darts has a unique spread of high standards across the ages.

As if that was not enough, darts today is at a historic point, as we may well be moving from the Phil Taylor era to the Raymond van Barneveld era.

John Part said as much recently, and when John talks you listen - he's the most thoughtful of all today's darts players, has a business degree, and can talk odds and probabilities on every sport until the early hours. I respect his opinion, and if he says we are entering the Barney era then - with certain qualifications - I would agree.

Barney now is where Taylor was in 2000. Back then, The Power won the World Matchplay with a tournament average of 97 and a best average of 102. In Las Vegas recently, although it was a legs-only contest, Barney beat Terry Jenkins 13-6 in the final with an average of 101.5. He didn't even break sweat.

Barney's so good these days, he's even taking shots Taylor invented and doing them better. He's mastered the technique of understacking - putting the first dart in the top of the 60 bed and stacking the next two underneath - which a man of 5ft 8in like Taylor cannot manage.

Contemptuous

Taylor's bad form at the UK Open and in Las Vegas would have had some of the guys thinking there could be big pay-days ahead, but Barney has made them think again by taking both titles with contemptuous ease.

In all likelihood, the Dutchman's first three opponents in Blackpool will be Denis Ovens, Andy Smith and Adrian Lewis, who has talent but a tendency to hit the wall. I don't see any trouble for Barney there.

If anyone in the bottom half is to challenge him, it could be either Mick McGowan - a dark horse who has run Taylor close twice in recent months - or Colin Osborne.

Osborne's is one of the more interesting stories in darts today. He was an English yo-yo champion, a British table tennis champion and used to play football for Middlesbrough juniors. If Colin develops a killer edge which is just lacking at the moment, he'll be dangerous.

As for the top half, I can see Taylor having another bad tournament, and there's a chance he could lose to Wes Newton in the first round. Newton always runs him close, and Taylor is throwing some of the sloppiest darts I've ever seen from him.

In Las Vegas his stacking was all wrong - he just wasn't getting the first dart in the bottom of the 60 bed.

At times, he was half an inch off, and I don't see the champion sorting it out in time to challenge for a ninth Matchplay title.

What is Taylor's poor form down to? It's difficult to say with him. Taylor is a born tinkerer and he used strange spinning flights in America which didn't work for him.

Another explanation is that he could be a couple of stone overweight, but personally I think he is devoting too much time to his business interests.

I doubt he's going to the board at 8am to iron out his technique, and his practice won't be as intense now as it will be come October, when he'll really begin gearing up for the World Championship.

That's the big one for Taylor, and maybe we should give him a break - he did win the Premier League unbeaten.

Follow the World Matchplay darts live at 7pm from Monday to Saturday, and also at 1pm from Monday to Thursday.

Sid Waddell was talking to Stephen Turner