Raymond Van Barneveld back to best to beat Gerwyn Price in Wolverhampton
Raymond van Barneveld secured his place in the knockout stages at the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts after rolling back the years to defeat reigning champion Gerwyn Price in a deciding-leg thriller in Wolverhampton last night.
Van Barneveld – a Grand Slam winner in 2012 – defied a 106 average from the Welshman to prevail in an epic showdown at the Aldersley Leisure Village, recovering from 3-1 down to book his place in the last 16.
Price made a blistering start to the contest, but Van Barneveld came roaring back, registering legs of 11, 14 and 14 darts to force a decider, before sealing the deal with a nerveless 67 finish on double 16.
“This is one of the best wins of my career,” insisted Van Barneveld, who will take on World Youth Champion Ted Evetts in his final Group A tie this evening.
“Gerwyn was a great sport. I think he was enjoying the game, and I was enjoying the way he was playing. This is what darts is all about, and I’m over the moon with this result.”
Three-time champion Price will now take on Dave Chisnall in a winner-takes-all clash on Monday, after the 2014 runner-up opened his Group A account with a 5-2 win over Evetts, averaging 101 and landing four 180s in the process.
Dirk van Duijvenbode was the first player to secure a place in the last 16, reeling off four straight legs from 3-1 adrift to defeat Rob Cross, with a ten-darter in leg five sparking his comeback.
Cross now faces a straight shoot-out for Group D qualification against Martin Schindler, after the German won the final three legs of his clash against Adam Gawlas, who is unable to progress following Van Duijvenbode’s victory.
Elsewhere, Michael Smith established control of Group C with an emphatic 5-1 win over Joe Cullen, extending his winning run in the round-robin stage to 15 games.
Smith’s final Group C fixture will see him play Ritchie Edhouse, who preserved his qualification hopes with a convincing 5-2 win against Lisa Ashton to draw level with Cullen in the table.
Danny Noppert turned on the style in his 5-2 win over Simon Whitlock to maintain his 100% record in Group B, averaging 99 to move to the brink of a place in the knockout stages.
The UK Open champion now takes on 2018 semi-finalist Mensur Suljovic in his final round-robin tie, after the Austrian battled past PDC Asian Champion Christian Perez to move level on points with Whitlock.
