Raymond van Barneveld has admitted he will ask himself "what's next?" after he lost his first match at the World Darts Championship for a second year running.
Van Barneveld was thrashed 3-0 by Switzerland's Stefan Bellmont on Wednesday, winning just two legs, and is set to drop significantly down from his current ranking of 35th following the tournament.
The 58-year-old has already retired once from darts at the start of 2020 but returned after a year out and got back into the top 32. However, he has struggled to perform on the big stage which irks the five-time world champion.
"It has been a very poor year for me. I need to regroup myself," he told Dutch TV channel Viaplay.
"It's very difficult to answer what's next. On the practice board I'm a five-time world champion, maybe even ten-time.
"But during the matches it just is not going my way. And why not? I don't know. I can't answer that, really."
Van Barneveld has won two Players Championship events since his comeback in 2021 but, aside from a semi-final appearance at the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts, has rarely shown his best form at the major televised events.
He added: "Of course, this hurts. It's the second time in a row this happens to me. I wonder by myself how to go on.
"I wonder what to do because suffering every week from all the defeats is not what I want. That's obvious.
"He doesn't even have a tour card and to only win two legs, that says it all. I have got homework to do and have to find out what to do next. But, this one hurts, that's obvious."
Van Barneveld, who has been a professional darts player since 1984, has not reached the quarter-finals at the World Championship since 2018.
Former Premier League Darts champion and Your Site Darts' Glen Durrant says "it's difficult to have such longevity" but expects Van Barneveld to carry in playing in 2026.
"It's not easy to walk away. Barney could be practicing great. I've seen him at exhibitions when he looked really happy and he was marvellous," said Durrant.
"You always have that hope and expectation. Father Time catches up with you. Your eyesight goes, sometimes you feel aches and pains.
"He will have questions to ask himself. He will have the answers. He retired once and came back, won tournaments, so he has a big decision to make.
"I can't see him walking away because darts has never been in such a good place."
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live all the way through until Saturday January 3 on Your Site' dedicated darts channel. .
