Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld began his bid for the 2024 PDC title with a confident win over Poland’s Radek Szaganski.
Van Barneveld, 56, won 3-1 to set up a third-round meeting with Wales’ Jim Williams, who knocked out two-time champion Peter Wright on Wednesday.
“I was really pleased with that last leg, my finishing was really good. I’m really happy,” said Van Barneveld.
England’s Chris Dobey and Northern Ireland’s Brendan Dolan also advanced.
Masters champion Dobey, seeded 17th, edged past Republic of Ireland’s William O’Connor in a high-quality contest, breathing a huge sigh of relief after sealing a 3-2 win.
With the help of 10 180s, Dobey needed an average 103 – his highest at the tournament – to come through and set up a last-32 meeting with fellow Englishman Ross Smith.
The tournament, held annually at London’s Alexandra Palace, will take a break for Christmas after the second round is completed on Saturday.
The third round starts on 27 December and the champion will be crowned on 3 January.
A field of 96 players, including reigning champion Michael Smith, started out in London to compete for a first prize of £500,000.
Van Barneveld, who won BDO titles in 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2005 before moving to the PDC and beating Phil Taylor in the 2007 final, held off Szaganski to ensure he will return.
After moving two sets ahead, Van Barneveld sealed victory with an average of 99.81 and moved into the last 32 for only the second time in five years.
Seeded players Wright and James Wade have been eliminated from Van Barneveld’s section of the draw, although he could face 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler in the fourth round.
“It’s still not my A-game, I can do a lot better,” said Van Barneveld, who briefly retired in 2019 before returning to the sport. “From 2-0 down [Szganski] played really well and gave me a hard game.
“Of course I look at [the draw] but it gives you more pressure. Peter Wright has gone, James Wade has gone, but there’s a little guy in there called Luke Littler – he’s fantastic.”
Earlier, Dolan won a sudden-death decider against fellow Northern Irishman and his former World Cup partner Mickey Mansell.
The pair landed nine 180s between them in a tight contest that led to the first tie-break of the tournament, where Dolan kept his nerve with a double 16 to set up a third-round match against 2021 champion Gerwyn Price.
Germany’s Florian Hempel fought back from two-sets down – and kept his hopes alive with a 151 checkout when he trailed 2-0 in the fourth set – to beat Belgium’s Dimitri van den Bergh 3-2.
2023-12-22 23:48:36
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