Ex-world darts champion makes bold prize money claim - 'They have to look into it'

Former world champion has called on the to hand out more prize money for players who finish at the bottom end of tournaments. The 58-year-old is a five-time champion and is estimated to have won more than £4million in prize money during his career.

Van Barneveld is still competing at the top level of the sport as he prepares to compete in the Austrian Darts Open this week, with the veteran star set to face Czech player Karel Sedlacek.

But there have been some complaints about the prize money players receive in recent years who don't reach the final stages of tournaments and Van Barneveld has called on the PDC to think about the stars lower down the ranks who are struggling to make ends meet when they struggle to win games.

"The prize money for all the majors is fantastic but they have to start thinking about the other players as well," he told . "Because if you're not in a major, only 32 players are involved in that, and if you're not involved in these tournaments, it's almost impossible to qualify for the World Match Play. It's very hard to go to the Grand Prix from there, you have to do really well.

"So I was thinking, if they would have done more prize money in the Pro Tour events, where everyone is, you have 128 players, there's nothing you get for the first round. If you get beat, you get nothing - but you still have to pay for your flights, your hotels, your taxis. I think the PDC have to look into that.

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"Maybe £250 for starters and if you win, £1250 or £1000, which will make all the players happier. Sometimes you do 34 Pro Tours and if you lose a lot of them you won't get paid anything. Your hotel needs to be paid, your travel needs to be paid and that goes really fast because everything is getting expensive.

"We've got 128 players, They top you up £250 - give the £250 on the 64 losers. Every day you will still earn £250. That will mean that possible players in the future can look after themselves instead of going straight to management. I think they have to look into that because it costs a lot of money."

It comes after the PDC announced they would be increasing their prize money for the World Darts Championship to £1million for the winner and £25m overall after a surge in popularity for the sport - thanks to the emergence of superstars like .

The PDC also said they would boost prize funds at all levels on the pro circuit from 2026 onwards, with an increase of £7m from the figures in 2025.

They announced that next season's winner of the Darts would also get £350,000 - with the overall prize pot raised to £1.25m, with £1m on offer at the World Matchplay and Grand Slam of Darts.

PDC chief Matt Porter said: "The increased prize funds announced today demonstrate our commitment to growing earning potential for players at all levels within the PDC system. Expanding the player fields for the World Darts Championship and Grand Slam of Darts will provide more opportunities than ever before for players around the world to feature in televised PDC events.

"The incredible growth of the PDC in recent years has seen darts elevated to levels never seen before both in terms of playing opportunities and global interest and this is a huge moment for all players with the ambition to make it to the very pinnacle of the sport."