Returning Raymond van Barneveld (54) has reached the second round at the Darts World Cup in London’s Alexandra Palace. The Dutchman won his opening match against Lourence Ilagan from the Philippines 3-0. On Thursday evening, van Barneveld will meet 2018 World Champion Rob Cross (England).
The five-time world champion ended his career two years ago, but returned to the darts stage after a short break at the beginning of the year.
Florian Hempel is challenged in the second round on Tuesday. In the evening, the Cologne will meet Dimitri van den Bergh from Belgium, who was seeded on five. The German number one Gabriel Clemens is not required 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.