"I thought, maybe one day, people will start missing against me and luckily, Joe did that" - Raymond van Barneveld punishes Cullen at Swiss Darts Trophy

Raymond van Barneveld has convincingly qualified for the second round of the 2024 Swiss Darts Trophy. Barney defeated Joe Cullen in the opening round with clear 6-2 figures and now faces Ricardo Pietreczko.

Van Barneveld impressed in Basel, missing a nine-darter in the final leg by narrowly missing the treble 20 with his seventh dart. The 57-year-old Dutchman closed with an average of 102.47.

"After 2 two all, he missed some crucial doubles. But I kept telling myself I can do this," he explains. "Last week I averaged 113 against Wessel Nijman and lost! I thought, maybe one day, people will start missing against me and luckily, Joe did that today."

Van Barneveld became impressed with the crowd at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel. "It's been since my BDO days that I played in Switzerland," he said. "But what a fantastic crowd it is here, I want to thank them for their support."

The Swiss Darts Trophy will be broadcast on PDC TV. As usual with Euro Tour tournaments, the Swiss Darts Trophy consists of three tournament days. The afternoon sessions start on Friday and Saturday at 12:00, while the evening sessions then start at 18:00. On Sunday, the sessions start at 11:00 and 17:00.

The first round will take place on Friday. The 16 Order of Merit qualifiers and the winners from the various qualifying tournaments then make their appearance. The top-16 seeded players enter the tournament on Saturday in the second round. Sunday will see the denouement of the tournament, starting with the third round in the afternoon session. Sunday evening will be followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.