Van Gerwen was in the run-up to his match against Barney too strong for Darius Labanauskas (6-1) and William O’Connor (6-2). Van Barneveld took victories against training partner Jeffrey de Zwaan (6-3) and the Belgian Brian Raman (6-1).
Van Gerwen will play against a Dutchman again in the eighth finals. Niels Zonneveld is then the opponent. Mighty Mike and Zonneveld are the only two Dutch players in the last sixteen of Players Championship 3 in Wigan.
Since the comeback of five-time world champion Van Barneveld at the beginning of 2021, the two greatest Dutch darts players have met once before. That was at the end of November in the second round of the Players Championship Finals. Triple world champion Van Gerwen also won 6-3.
Peter Wright could become the new number one in the world at Players Championship 3. It worked snakebite however not. The two-time and reigning world champion would take over the prestigious title if he won the floor tournament, but Wright already lost in the second round against the German Max Hopp: 5-6.
Wright’s early defeat keeps Gerwyn Price (for now) first on the PDC Order of Merit† The Welshman even lost in the first round at Players Championship 3 and therefore had to fear, but The Iceman could breathe a sigh of relief after Wright’s also early elimination.
This weekend in Wigan, in addition to the third, the fourth tournament from the Players Championship is on the program. In these floor tournaments, the darts players can earn money for the world rankings and enforce placement for the Players Championship Finals.