Raymond van Barneveld secures World Matchplay return with opening win in Trier
Raymond van Barneveld confirmed his return to the World Matchplay for the first time in five years with victory on the opening day of the European Darts Matchplay in Trier.
Van Barneveld recorded a 6-3 win over George Killington in Round One of European Tour 10 on Friday, sealing his return to Blackpool for the first time since 2018.
The 2010 World Matchplay runner-up will now face old rival Michael van Gerwen in a mouth-watering second round clash between the two Dutch giants on Saturday night.
“This was a vital win for me in my quest to qualify for the big TV events later this year,” said Van Barneveld.
“I want to qualify for the World Matchplay, the World Grand Prix, the European Championship, so this is one of my goals achieved for this year.
“I will have to play much better to do anything against Michael [Van Gerwen] in the next round, I will need to put a few points on my average.
“The game is there; in practice I was hitting 180s and 140s but on stage I hit too may 60s, so that’s something I need to sort out for tomorrow.”
Van Barneveld’s progression means that three ProTour Order of Merit qualification places remain up for grabs, currently occupied by Steve Beaton, Brendan Dolan and Kim Huybrechts.
Dolan strengthened his chances of a ninth Winter Gardens appearance with a 6-2 defeat of Connor Scutt, while Huybrechts suffered a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Keane Barry.
Barry is among the chasing pack in the race for Blackpool, with world number one Michael Smith up next for the Irish youngster in Round Two.
Beaton, like Huybrechts, also faces an anxious wait on his Matchplay hopes, having not qualified for this weekend’s event.
Ricardo Pietreczko and world number 26 Callan Rydz kept their prospects of qualification alive with wins over Fabian Herz and Stephen Burton respectively.
Pietreczko ruthlessly whitewashed German compatriot Herz 6-0, while Rydz returned to winning ways with a 6-3 success over Burton.
However, the qualification hopes of Simon Whitlock, William O’Connor, Luke Woodhouse and Matt Campbell were all ended with defeat on the opening day in Trier.
Whitlock succumbed 6-2 to James Wilson, while former World Matchplay champion James Wade completed a 6-1 rout of O’Connor with a 101.5 average.
Campbell went down 6-3 to Mickey Mansell – who produced a 142 checkout along the way and averaged 95.4.
Emerging Dutch star Gian van Veen and Czech newcomer Vitezslav Sedlak impressed with ton-plus averages in their wins over Christian Kist and Daniel Klose respectively.
Germany’s recent World Cup semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens raised the roof with a 6-3 defeat of Jose de Sousa, his first victory over the Portuguese number one in four years.
Martin Lukeman battled back from 4-1 down with five consecutive legs to dispatch Graham Hall 6-4, as Stephen Bunting recovered from 3-1 with five straight legs of his own in overcoming Woodhouse.
Ryan Joyce thrashed Ted Evetts 6-1 in the afternoon’s opening fixture, while UK Open champion Andrew Gilding landed six from eight on the doubles in a 6-4 success over Darryl Pilgrim.
Marko Kantele ended a five-year wait for a win on the Euro Tour as he prevailed 6-2 in a marathon encounter with methodical youngster Liam Maendl-Lawrance which lasted a staggering 48 minutes.
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European Darts Matchplay 2023 Day One Results
All times BST (Local time +1 hour)
Friday June 30
First Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Ryan Joyce 6-1 Ted Evetts
Daniel Klose 3-6 Vitezslav Sedlak
Gian van Veen 6-3 Christian Kist
Graham Hall 4-6 Martin Lukeman
Connor Scutt 2-6 Brendan Dolan
Darryl Pilgrim 4-6 Andrew Gilding
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Matt Campbell
Stephen Burton 3-6 Callan Rydz
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Liam Maendl-Lawrance 2-6 Marko Kantele
Fabian Herz 0-6 Ricardo Pietreczko
Kim Huybrechts 2-6 Keane Barry
William O’Connor 1-6 James Wade
George Killington 3-6 Raymond van Barneveld
Jose de Sousa 3-6 Gabriel Clemens
Simon Whitlock 2-6 James Wilson
Luke Woodhouse 3-6 Stephen Bunting
Saturday July 1
Second Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Dave Chisnall v Ryan Joyce
Josh Rock v Brendan Dolan
Rob Cross v Mickey Mansell
Damon Heta v Gian van Veen
Nathan Aspinall v Martin Lukeman
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Andrew Gilding
Joe Cullen v Vitezslav Sedlak
Ross Smith v Stephen Bunting
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Jonny Clayton v James Wade
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Ricardo Pietreczko
Ryan Searle v Gabriel Clemens
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael Smith v Keane Barry
Luke Humphries v Marko Kantele
Martin Schindler v Callan Rydz
Danny Noppert v James Wilson
Sunday July 2
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Third Round
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Prize Fund
Winner: £30,000
Runner-up: £12,000
Semi-Final losers: £8,500
Quarter-Final losers: £6,000
Last 16 losers: £4,000
Second Round losers: £2,500
First Round losers: £1,250
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