Darts: Barneveld accent on cockney's double top

THE TOP-SEEDED Dutchman, Raymond Barneveld, will be attempting to become only the second player to successfully defend his title at the Embassy World Championship, which begins at Frimley Green today.

Eric Bristow, the legendary "crafty cockney" and "Arkle of darts", who won the championship in 1980 and 1981 and again from 1984 to 1986, achieved the feat twice, and Barneveld would dearly like to join him in the record books.

The Dutchman, now 31, believes he is playing better now than when he won the title 12 months ago. Then he was still working as a postman but after collecting a pounds 40,000 cheque for winning the Embassy he turned professional a month later.

"I used to get up at six o'clock in the morning when I was a postman and I did not play as much darts as I would have liked," he said.

"Now I can take my three children to school, spend far more time with them and also play a lot more darts.

"But I am lucky. I am one of those players who doesn't need to practise for eight hours a day. I like to relax before my matches and only pick up my darts for a few throws about two hours before I'm due on stage."

Barneveld was also Embassy runner-up in 1995 when he was beaten by Welshman Richie Burnett. But he gained revenge by beating Burnett 6-5 in a breath- taking final last year.

He is clearly a man in form. Only last week Barneveld won the British Open with a 2-0 victory over Peter Manley, of Surrey, in the final.

Many people believe the Skol World Darts Championship, being staged at Purfleet, is the superior event in world darts because they have most of the better known players in their 32-strong field.

However, it is not that simple. The Embassy has far greater strength in depth and for the past four years has consistently produced the better averages. It also has far better prize money - pounds 167,200 compared with pounds 97,000 - at Purfleet, with a first prize of pounds 42,000 as against pounds 30,000 in the Skol event.

Four world champions will be in the field. They are Barneveld, Burnett, Steve Beaton, who won in 1996, and Les Wallace, the 1997 winner.