In his home town of The Hague Barney was delivering mail as recently as 16 years ago and he only hung up his postbag following his first world title, the BDO version, in 1998. He went from earning about €1,000 a month to pocketing a cheque for over €50,000.
Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2009, Barney has had to work on his fitness and diet to ensure he doesn't get fatigued in the longer matches.
Barney nailed the first nine-darter at the PDC World Championship Paul Lim had managed one way back in 1990 before the split in the sport but the first at the PDC World Championships came from Barney, as he inflicted it on his fellow countryman Jelle Klaasen at the quarter-final stages of the 2009 Championship.
He got £20,000 as a bonus for that feat and Barney was also the second man to do the nine-darter at the PDC's biggest event, nabbing another against Irishman Brendan Dolan the following year. That earned him a £25,000 bonus.
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