Van Barneveld started the duel strongly with Cross, the number 11 in the world. With 3-1 in legs, he won the first set thanks to a handsome 170 finish.
Cross recovered well in the second set, which he won 3-1 in legs (1-1). After that, Van Barneveld was unable to take the initiative back and he also lost the next two sets.
Cross had a lower average than his Dutch opponent (90.38 against 92.45), but was significantly better at throwing out the doubles (38.5 percent against 21.4 percent).
Van Barneveld conquered the world title at the PDC in 2007, after he had become world champion four times with the other association BDO. In 2009 he lost the final to Phil Taylor and after that he reached the semifinals five more times. ‘Barney’ ended his career after his elimination from the World Cup in December 2019 and took a detailed farewell in 2020. However, in September of that year, he made his comeback.
Danny Noppert.
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noppert
Earlier in the evening Danny Noppert did reach the third round. After a rough start, the 30-year-old Frisian defeated Brit Jason Heaver in four sets: 3-1. Noppert, seeded eighteen, lost the first set (1-3), but then got into his rhythm against the number 98 in the world.
Noppert closed his first game at this World Cup with an average of 88.42 points and a finish percentage of 27.8 percent. He throws in the third round against the Briton Ryan Searle, the number 15 in the world.
“My head is about to explode now, it was really exciting. I expected that I would win this match a little easier”, Noppert admitted at RTL7. “I was too often next to the triple 20 and the doubles. It was pulling the arrows, but I did win. That is the most important. However, I cannot play against Ryan Searle this way. Then I’ll really have to look better. Because this level is not what I want, although I can now spend Christmas in London. We’re going for it.”
After Dirk van Duijvenbode, Vincent van der Voort, Martijn Kleermaker and Michael van Gerwen, Noppert is the fifth Dutchman to have joined the last 32.