Van Barneveld secures Grand Slam of Darts return in 2021
Raymond van Barneveld secured his return to the Grand Slam of Darts after coming through the qualifier in Barnsley on Friday.
Van Barneveld, the 2012 Grand Slam champion, was among eight players to progress through the Tour Card holder qualifier and clinch a place in the main event later this month.
The Dutch darting icon will compete in Wolverhampton for the first time since 2018 after defeating Alan Soutar, Danny Noppert and Brendan Dolan at the Barnsley Metrodome.
Dolan led 4-3 in the final qualifying round but failed to close out the win as Barney levelled and then held his nerve with a 14-darter in the deciding leg.
Krzysztof Ratajski continued the prolific form which led him to the Players Championship 30 title on Thursday as he secured a spot in the Grand Slam, defeating William O’Connor 5-1 in their decider.
The German duo of Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler will also feature in the Grand Slam after defeating Callan Rydz and former Grand Slam finalist Dave Chisnall respectively in their final ties.
Stephen Bunting, a World Championship semi-finalist in January, defeated Steve Brown to qualify, while Mike De Decker won an all-Belgian decider with Kim Huybrechts 5-3.
Croatia’s Boris Krcmar will make his Grand Slam debut after defeating Ross Smith 5-1 in their final clash, while Ryan Joyce came from 4-0 down to defeat Daryl Gurney and clinch his qualification spot.
The draw for the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts, which takes place from November 13-21 at the Aldersley Leisure Village, will be made at approximately 4.30pm GMT on Friday November 5.
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Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Qualifier Results
Last 128
Ricky Evans 5-4 Jon Worsley
Mike De Decker 5-2 Eddie Lovely
Jelle Klaasen 5-2 Scott Waites
Keane Barry 5-3 Ryan Murray
Josh Payne 5-2 Danny Baggish
Peter Jacques 5-3 Ron Meulenkamp
Jason Lowe 5-3 Mark McGeeney
Andy Boulton 5-3 Jason Heaver
Wayne Jones 5-4 James Wilson
Steve Beaton 5-3 Aaron Beeney
Alan Soutar 5-1 Ryan Meikle
Geert De Vos 5-3 Ciaran Teehan
Damon Heta 5-0 Jesus Noguera
Luke Woodhouse 5-3 Andy Hamilton
Martin Schindler 5-1 Peter Hudson
Boris Koltsov 5-3 Kai Fan Leung
Jermaine Wattimena 5-3 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Ryan Joyce 5-3 Berry van Peer
Jamie Hughes 5-4 David Evans
Matthew Edgar 5-2 Brett Claydon
Jake Jones 5-4 Madars Razma
Keegan Brown 5-1 Darius Labanauskas
Darren Webster 5-3 Martin Lukeman
Boris Krcmar 5-1 Andrew Gilding
Maik Kuivenhoven 5-2 Alan Tabern
Ross Smith 5-2 Gordon Mathers
Last 64
Kim Huybrechts 5-4 Nathan Aspinall
Ricky Evans 5-1 Scott Mitchell
Adrian Lewis 5-1 Max Hopp
Mike De Decker 5-3 Jelle Klaasen
Callan Rydz 5-2 Simon Whitlock
Josh Payne 5-3 Keane Barry
Gabriel Clemens 5-3 Steve Lennon
Jason Lowe 5-1 Peter Jacques
Stephen Bunting 5-4 Adam Hunt
Andy Boulton 5-0 Florian Hempel
Steve Brown 5-3 Devon Petersen
Steve Beaton 5-1 Wayne Jones
Danny Noppert 5-1 Martijn Kleermaker
Raymond van Barneveld 5-3 Alan Soutar
Brendan Dolan 5-2 Nick Kenny
Damon Heta 5-2 Geert De Vos
Dave Chisnall 5-3 Lewis Williams
Luke Woodhouse 5-4 Gary Blades
Vincent van der Voort 5-3 Steve West
Martin Schindler 5-2 Boris Koltsov
Ian White 5-4 Krzysztof Kciuk
Ryan Joyce 5-2 Jermaine Wattimena
Daryl Gurney 5-4 Jack Main
Matthew Edgar 5-4 Jamie Hughes
Krzysztof Ratajski 5-4 Joe Murnan
Jake Jones 5-4 John Brown
William O’Connor 5-3 Chris Dobey
Keegan Brown 5-0 Darren Webster
Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-2 Ritchie Edhouse
Boris Krcmar 5-2 Karel Sedlacek
Ryan Searle 5-1 Ted Evetts
Ross Smith 5-4 Maik Kuivenhoven
Last 32
Kim Huybrechts 5-1 Ricky Evans
Mike De Decker 5-2 Adrian Lewis
Callan Rydz 5-1 Josh Payne
Gabriel Clemens 5-3 Jason Lowe
Stephen Bunting 5-4 Andy Boulton
Steve Brown 5-3 Steve Beaton
Raymond van Barneveld 5-3 Danny Noppert
Brendan Dolan 5-0 Damon Heta
Dave Chisnall 5-2 Luke Woodhouse
Martin Schindler 5-4 Vincent van der Voort
Ryan Joyce 5-3 Ian White
Daryl Gurney 5-2 Matthew Edgar
Krzysztof Ratajski 5-3 Jake Jones
William O’Connor 5-0 Keegan Brown
Boris Krcmar 5-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Ross Smith 5-4 Ryan Searle
Last 16
Mike De Decker 5-3 Kim Huybrechts
Gabriel Clemens 5-1 Callan Rydz
Stephen Bunting 5-3 Steve Brown
Raymond van Barneveld 5-4 Brendan Dolan
Martin Schindler 5-4 Dave Chisnall
Ryan Joyce 5-4 Daryl Gurney
Krzysztof Ratajski 5-1 William O’Connor
Boris Krcmar 5-1 Ross Smith
