23:01
Barney turns out to be a bad loser
After Raymond van Barneveld played a strong first set here, he was overwhelmed by a steadily improving Rob Cross. But he doesn’t need to be ashamed of his performance. After the game, however, Cross would like to clap the Dutchman. He taps it several times, but “Barney” does not react and pretends to be dealing with his darts. Cross doesn’t really know what to do with it and turns away. Shortly afterwards, van Barneveld comes to his senses and comes back to the Englishman. That was an unworthy exit for this great athlete.
22:58
Again the perfect timing from Voltage
The transition of the Englishman is just incredibly strong. In this possibly decisive leg he brings himself back to 82 points with a 180. But “Barney” still has the option of bagging the leg with the Shanghai finish. He hits the T20 and then the simple 20, but his dart on the doubles again misses. Cross is now at 40 points and is now closing the match. The first arrow sits on tops. This is a well-deserved win for the Englishman.
22:55
Cross again with an outstanding transition
“Barney” plays the start of “Voltage” almost continuously from the front. But then in the transition to the finish area, the Englishman is back and turns a 140 to 86 Rest. Van Barneveld stands at 100 and also hits the T20 directly. Over the easy 20 he has a dart on tops. But he misses. Cross snaps and finishes the 86 over T18, 16 and D8.
22:52
Next break for Cross
The averages have now converged. Given how weak Rob Cross’ first set was, it becomes clear that the Englishman is now playing a strong match. He also opened the fourth set well, but again awarded six darts on the doubles. “Barney” is too far to finish. And what does “Voltage” do? He throws the simple 13 with 8 points remainder. So again van Barneveld has the opportunity to get his throw-off through. But he can’t check 66 points and that annoys the Dutchman a lot. Cross is there and breaks Mad House.
22:49
“Barney” doesn’t keep up with the decider
“Voltage” hammers a 180 into the board again and runs away from his opponent. While van Barneveld still has to delete more than 300 points, Cross has 160 left, so six arrows time. But the six arrows are not enough for the Englishman. He missed a total of three darts on the doubles. 147 are too much for “Barney”. This gives his opponent the chance to get the D4 and hits with the first arrow.
22:47
Maximum pressure on the 85
“Barney” is at 85 points and Cross is not yet in the finish, but then he manages the next 180. That means a lot of pressure for Raymond van Barneveld. He hits the T15 directly and gets the 2: 2 equalizer in the third set via D20.
10:45 p.m.
Break chance for van Barneveld
In the third leg, van Barneveld plays from the front and takes the D12 to get the break. But after an arrow past the double, he first hits the simple 12 and then the simple 6. Rob Cross says thank you and takes his throw-off with the third dart over the D18.
22:43
Almost the next high finish
Van Barneveld throws the next 180 and then almost checks the 156. But after two T20s he doesn’t hit the D18, but the 18. Then on the D9 it’s the easy 9. So he has to do one more lap of honor. “Voltage” does not check 150 points and then “Barney” s third dart is in the D4. The fans are relieved.
10:40 pm
The level continues to rise
Both players now regularly throw the 140. As a result, they are both in the finish area after only nine darts. And “Voltage” actually hits the T19 twice at 164 rest. But it misses the bullseye. “Barney” can’t check 167. Cross needs 43 points and checks confidently over 11 and D16.
22:37
Conclusion second sentence
Now we have a real game here. While Cross was hopelessly inferior in the first set, he improved in set two. His significantly better scoring gives him more options. And “Barney” is not there with a 27 percent checkout rate when “Voltage” makes mistakes. That’s the compensation you deserve.
22:35
Cross compensates
Cross actually plays the fourth leg clearly from the front. But then “Barney” shows good timing and throws a 180 to transition to the finish area. With 121 points remaining, he hits T20. Then 11 follows. So he has a chance at the bullseye. His dart ends up in the single bull. “Voltage” is there. The Englishman has 93 points and skillfully checks over T19 and D18.
22:32
The 180s fly
Now they’re both playing the 180s here. “Barney” gets a chance at D16 on his throw, but he forgives. Cross stands at 96, hits the easy 20. Then he wants to play D18 for tops, but doesn’t hit the field. Van Barneveld, on the other hand, uses the third arrow on the doubles and checks over D2 to make it 1: 2 in the second set.
22:30
Another strong leg from “Voltage”
Suddenly Cross is there. He also plays the second leg with a 100 and a 180 from the front. “Barney” can’t keep up and then “Voltage” comes out with a 128 finish. He checks through T20, T20, and D4.
22:29
Cross finally meets triple too
The second movement starts better than the first for number eleven in the world. Finally he meets the triples regularly. “Barney”, on the other hand, has slight problems. “Voltage” has the chance to break 68 points and he uses it. With 20, 16 and D16, the Englishman takes the lead 1-0.
22:24
Conclusion first sentence
That first movement was an impressive performance by Raymond van Barneveld. Nobody would ever doubt that the Dutchman can play good darts. But the performance with which he has played this game so far is surprising. But he is really supported by his fans. Rob Cross, on the other hand, has not yet found his way to his game. The scoring is not enough back and forth. So far, he has been reliant on his opponent’s mistakes to even be allowed to throw at doubles.
22:22
Extreme differences in scoring
“Barney” stands at almost 97 points on average at the end of the first sentence. “Voltage”, on the other hand, currently only scores 77 points with three arrows. That makes it easy for the Dutchman, of course, and he also has plenty of time to finish in this fourth leg of the first set. The old master is at 40 points remaining, while his opponent is not yet in the finish area. And this time he’s not doing things by halves. The first arrow is on D20.
22:20
“Barney” with problems on doubles
The 54-year-old gives six darts to the doubles and brings Cross back into his own throwing leg. But the English also have double trouble. Only at Mad House does he get the hit. That was superfluous from van Barneveld’s point of view. That first sentence could have ended long ago.
22:17
Cross doesn’t come into play just yet
Rob Cross’ scoring leaves a lot to be desired in these first two legs. But then he throws the 180. This puts “Barney” under real pressure on 170 rest. And what does the Dutchman do? It actually catches up with the Big-Fish! The fans are justifiably freaking out. Van Barneveld starts Furios in this game. After two legs he averages 113 points.
22:14
First 180 in the first leg
Van Barneveld has an excellent start in the first leg of this match. When Cross is thrown, “Barney” first throws a 100 and then a 180. This leaves him with 32 points remaining, while his opponent is not yet in the finish area. And the first arrow is in the D16. Great start of the 2007 world champion!
22:10
The hall trembles
This game puts the audience in ecstasy. The walk-on of “Barney” is celebrated frenetically. At Cross, those present do not agree on whether to cheer or whistle. It’s going to be a wild ride!
22:00
Cross clearly ahead in a direct duel
Before this game, the statistics clearly speak for number eleven in the world rankings. Rob Cross was able to defeat Raymond van Barneveld six times in seven direct duels so far. One game ended in a draw. And the tournament victory in October also indicates that “Voltage” found its form at the right time of year. But of course “Barney” should not be underestimated. The right-hander played almost a 97 average in his first game and he has proven often enough in the past that he is capable of even higher scores.
21:47
Number eleven in the world: Rob Cross
In the second round, a real hammer lot awaits van Barneveld with Rob Cross. The 31-year-old Cross is also a former world champion. At the 2018 World Cup, he defeated what was arguably the best player of all time in the last game of his career and thus took the crown in the final against Phil Taylor. Since then, “Voltage” has been an integral part of the world’s darts elite. And the Englishman was also able to secure a major title in 2021. At the European Championship in October he defeated Michael van Gerwen 11: 8 in the final.
21:45
Van Barneveld’s comeback to the World Cup
“Barney” actually wanted to have played his last world championship two years ago. But the Dutchman’s fingers were itching only a few months after the end of his career, so that he announced his comeback in September 2020, just under nine months after the World Cup. This year the 2007 world champion played again in major tournaments, but was unable to achieve any notable successes. At the start of this year’s World Cup, the 54-year-old won 3-0 against Lourence Ilagan.
21:31
Warm welcome
Hello and welcome to the third game of today’s evening session. Around 10 p.m. there is a real blast at the Ally Pally. With Rob Cross and Raymond van Barneveld, two former world champions meet in this second round game.
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