Dhe Dutch ex-champion Raymond van Barneveld celebrated a successful return at the Darts World Cup in London. On Monday evening, the 54-year-old nicknamed “Barney” defeated Lourence Ilagan from the Philippines 3-0. Van Barneveld showed an astonishingly high and stable level and was able to avert a first round defeat like at the World Championships in 2019 and 2020.
For the five-time world champion, it is the return after a year off from the World Cup because he actually ended his career in December 2019. On Thursday there will now be an explosive duel between the former world champions: Van Barneveld will then face the Englishman Rob Cross, who had a bye in round one. Cross was champion in 2018.
German competes
Today, Tuesday, Florian Hempel is challenged in the second round. The Cologne will meet Dimitri van den Bergh from Belgium, who is seeded at five, in the evening. The German number one Gabriel Clemens will not start until December 23rd.
96 players from 29 nations compete for the winner’s check of 500,000 pounds (around 546,000 euros) in the most important tournament of the year. In addition to defending champion Gerwyn Price, ex-world champions Peter Wright (Scotland) and Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands) are among the favorites. The final is scheduled for January 3rd.
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