England captain Martin Adams believes an increase in Raymond van Barneveld's self-belief enabled the Dutchman to conquer Phil Taylor in their epic Ladbrokes.com World Championship final.
Adams knows Van Barneveld well, the pair having been rivals in the British Darts Organisation which the 39-year-old from The Hague left last February to join the Professional Darts Corporation.
The BDO's number one ranked player was the man 'Barney' beat to win the last of his four Lakeside titles in 2005, going down 6-2 at the Frimley Green venue.
Van Barneveld's 7-6 sudden-death victory in Purfleet represented a huge difference from when he was trounced by Taylor in a 'unification' clash in 1999, and Adams feels it is due to the new champion being much more assured about his game.
"Raymond wouldn't have had the confidence in himself to take on and beat Phil before this year but he certainly seems to have now," said the 50-year-old from Peterborough. "This win should lift his confidence even further as well.
"I thought it was a very entertaining match. It certainly kept the crowd's attention, which hasn't always been the case with some of the landslide victories that have occurred.
"But it grabbed the crowd's attention and kept hold of it. It was a great match - it made great TV viewing."
Adams will try to capture the Lakeside World Championship for the first time when it starts on Saturday, with Tony O'Shea providing the top seed with a difficult test in the opening round.
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