European Championship
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Dennis Priestley
Raymond van Barneveld held off a spirited effort from Dennis Priestley to edge a final leg thriller on home turf.
The Dutchman was 4-2 and 5-3 ahead of the Yorkshireman, but Priestley clung on to force a deciding leg with the darts but is was Van Barneveld who missed tops for the match to give Priestley three darts at 36 for the victory but he failed to capitalise and it’s Van Barneveld who meets Mark Walsh in Saturday’s second round.
“Story of my life,” said Van Barneveld after being taken to the wire. “But I’m through to the second round and that’s what counts really.”
The game was slow to get into gear, with both men missing doubles for the opening leg before Priestley held to open the scoring.
Van Barneveld levelled matters and then won two legs on the trot with a 15-dart leg taking him 3-1 in front. Both players were left with tops for the fifth leg and Priestley won it before Raymond had his chance, but the Dutchman regained his two-leg advantage in the sixth leg.
The seventh leg was indicative of their contest though as Priestley wouldn’t let Van Barneveld out of his sights with a 70 checkout but the Dutchman then moved to within touching distance of the win in front of his home crowd with a 76 checkout taking him 5-3 ahead.
Priestley wasn’t finished though and set up a grand stand finish by firstly holding his throw with a 69 checkout and then claiming the tenth leg after Van Barneveld missed the bull to win the match.
Dennis had the darts in the final leg but Van Barneveld put him under pressure with three 100 but then missed tops for the game to hand Dennis three darts at 36 for the match. Priestley failed to convert his chance to complete the comeback though and Barney hit double ten at the second attempt to seal the win.
