Raymond van Barneveld reached the round of 16 at the Darts World Cup in London and perfected the generational duel with exceptional talent Luke Littler that many fans were longing for.
The 56-year-old veteran from the Netherlands won his third round match against Jim Williams (Wales) 4-1 and will now face the English junior world champion, 40 years his junior, who is causing a sensation in his first participation in the “Ally Pally”.
Against Williams, who had previously surprisingly eliminated two-time world champion Peter Wright (Scotland), van Barneveld trembled his way to winning the first set. The 2007 PDC world champion was weak in scoring, but still secured eight legs in a row.
Although he briefly gave his opponent hope again after missing five match darts, van Barneveld moved into the round of 16 for the first time in five years with the seventh match dart.
Littler, only 16 years old, quickly became a crowd favorite at the World Cup with his strong performances and youthful nature.
Only three-time champion Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands) and top favorite Luke Humphries (England) are traded higher by bookmakers.