Raymond van Barneveld says league form irrelevant at O2 Arena Play-Offs

Raymond van Barneveld has finished above Phil Taylor for the first time in Premier League history - but he insists that will mean nothing when the duo clash in Thursday night's play-offs.

The Dutchman has lost only three of his 16 matches this season ahead of his showdown with the world number one at London's O2 Arena as he secured an impressive second-place finish, three points ahead of his old rival.

His only losses came against table-topper Michael van Gerwen (twice) and Taylor, whom he is yet to beat in 16 previous Premier League outings, but Van Barneveld insists history will count for nothing when battle commences on Thursday.
"I finished above Phil but at the end of the day what does that mean?" he told Sky Sports "Michael van Gerwen beat me twice in the Premier League so what happens if I reach the final and Michael is there? Does it mean he will beat me three times? You never know.

"In my first year in the Premier League I beat Roland Scholten two times, but in the end he beat me in the semi-finals 11-3 and he was in the final and I was not.

"It's hard to predict. People say Taylor and Van Gerwen will be in the final but James Wade and myself are not easy players."
Richest

The four remaining players will be competing for the second-richest prize in darts in London with £150,000 on offer for the man who wins both of his matches.

Van Barneveld has not reached the final in his seven previous seasons in the competition, but says a victory would be a source of great pride to him.

He said: "I still believe the World Championship is the biggest one to win because that makes you the World Champion, but to win the Premier League you have to play against nine of the best players in the world.

"In the first nine weeks you have to play every one of them and after nine weeks two are relegated and you play the rest another time.

"I got 23 points and that's a good result I can be really proud of. I was only one point worse than Michael van Gerwen and higher than Phil.

"But what does that say? If you look at the table, I'm in better form than Phil Taylor, but what does that mean on Thursday night? Nothing."