Raymond van Barneveld (Photo by Gábor Kiss/PDC Europe)
Raymond van Barneveld rolled back the years at the Hungarian Darts Trophy to set up a fascinating encounter with 2021 champion Gerwyn Price in Budapest.
Van Barneveld stole the show on a thrilling day of action in the Hungarian capital, averaging 107.97 to dispatch 2023 champion Dave Chisnall 6-1 and leapfrog the St Helens star on the European Tour rankings.
The Dutch legend was irrepressible from start to finish at the MVM Dome, registering five 180s and converting an effortless 144 checkout to cap off a vintage display.
“Today it just clicked,” reflected Van Barneveld, who will aim to reach his first European Tour quarter-final of 2025 tomorrow.
“I went back to the shorter stems a couple of weeks ago and I feel more positive. I often don’t manage to take my form from the practice room on to the stage, but today it worked and I’m really happy with this win.”
Van Barneveld’s reward will be a showdown with Price, who opened his title challenge with a routine 6-2 victory against Richard Veenstra.
“It wasn’t spectacular, but I did enough and I’ve got plenty more in the tank,” insisted Price, who defeated Van Barneveld at last weekend’s World Series of Darts Finals.
“I’m playing fantastic darts this year. I just need a little bit of luck, but there’s no reason why I can’t go and lift this trophy again.”
Round Two saw a host of big names enter the fray in front of a record-breaking crowd at the MVM Dome, with Luke Humphries, Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen all advancing to Finals Day.
Van Gerwen will take on Danny Noppert in an all-Dutch clash on Sunday afternoon, having kicked off his defence of the title with victory over Matthew Dennant.
The reigning champion ran out a comfortable 6-2 winner over Dennant, while Noppert survived a match dart in edging out Rob Owen, despite squandering five match darts of his own in the penultimate leg.
Humphries, meanwhile, overcame a 99 average from Nathan Aspinall to begin his bid for back-to-back European Tour titles, landing 68, 72 and 130 combinations in the latter stages of the contest.
The world number one will now renew his rivalry with World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, who won through a one-sided affair against Tom Bissell in Saturday’s finale.
World Champion Littler and Martin Schindler will also go head-to-head for a quarter-final berth, following comprehensive wins over Joe Cullen and Ryan Joyce respectively.
Littler pinned six of his eight double attempts during his 6-1 thumping of 2022 champion Cullen, while Schindler reeled off five consecutive legs to dispatch birthday boy Joyce 6-2.
Josh Rock defied 124, 126 and 161 finishes from Ricardo Pietreczko to triumph in a high-quality encounter in Budapest, as he sets his sights on reaching a third consecutive European Tour final.
Thibault Tricole now awaits Rock in round three, after the Frenchman survived eight match darts and fought back from 5-2 down to celebrate a landmark win against fourth seed Stephen Bunting.
Elsewhere, Rob Cross claimed a crucial win in his bid to qualify for next month’s European Championship, averaging 102 on his way to a 6-3 success against Daryl Gurney.
Cross will now play Niko Springer in round three, after the young German followed up his superb win over Gian van Veen with a 6-1 demolition of Australian number one Damon Heta.
James Wade also impressed on Day Two in Budapest, producing 135 and 156 checkouts in successive legs to maintain his sparkling form on the European Tour stage.
Wade will now face Kim Huybrechts, after the Belgian withstood a late fightback from two-time World Champion Peter Wright to triumph in a gruelling last-leg decider.
Chris Dobey and Cameron Menzies will also lock horns for a place in the quarter-finals, after winning through hard-fought encounters against Darren Beveridge and Ross Smith respectively.
RESULTS
Round Two: Martin Schindler 6-2 Ryan Joyce; Cameron Menzies 6-4 Ross Smith; Danny Noppert 6-5 Rob Owen; Chris Dobey 6-3 Darren Beveridge; Rob Cross 6-3 Daryl Gurney; James Wade 6-3 Luke Woodhouse; Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Peter Wright; Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Dave Chisnall; Niko Springer 6-1 Damon Heta; Gerwyn Price 6-2 Richard Veenstra; Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Matthew Dennant; Luke Littler 6-1 Joe Cullen; Luke Humphries 6-4 Nathan Aspinall; Thibault Tricole 6-5 Stephen Bunting; Josh Rock 6-3 Ricardo Pietreczko; Mike De Decker 6-2 Tom Bissell
