
Raymond van Barneveld beat Joe Cullen to win the Players Championship title, just three days after returning to darts.
The 53-year-old walked away from the sport in 2019 but made a fine comeback, landing his first PDC ranking title in eight years on Saturday night.
As well as seeing off in-form Cullen 8-6 in the final in Bolton, van Barneveld beat some of the sport’s biggest names to mark a memorable return to the oche.
𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗬 𝗛𝗔𝗦 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗜𝗧!👁🐯
Raymond van Barneveld has won his first PDC ranking title in eight years in just his third day back on the tour!🏆
Fairytale stuff from the five-time World Champion! pic.twitter.com/CddkQegjoQ
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 27, 2021
Rob Cross and Mervyn King also fell by the wayside as the Dutchman marked his comeback in style.
“This last year I went ‘Raymond, can I do this?’ And I can do this,” Barneveld told Sky Sports after his win.
“It all starts with belief. You have to start from scratch. I was an amateur last week, it’s so weird.
“Then one week later I’m winning on the pro tour, that’s what you can do if you believe in yourself.”

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