Van Barneveld battles past Whitlock in Grand Slam of Darts classic to reach Quarter-Finals

Raymond van Barneveld has defeated Simon Whitlock by 10-8 to book his place in the Grand Slam of Darts Quarter-Finals for the first time since 2016.

In a battle between two of the most experienced dart players on the circuit today, it was Barney who rolled back the years to keep his hopes of success alive at this year's Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

It was the Wizard who came out of the gate the quickest, breaking throw with a 14-darter in the opening leg before backing it up with a 12-dart hold in the 2nd. The 2012 Grand Slam champion kept in touch however and despite Whitlock averaging 108.5 at the first break, the Aussie led by just one at 3-2.

2 missed darts for a 6-2 lead came and went for Whitlock, Van Barneveld capitalising on the error to pull one break back, mopping up D20. Sensing Whitlock's levels dropping, Barney exquisitely took out 71 on the bull to get back to within one leg again, holding the pose after nailing the smallest target on the board. 2 more missed darts from the Wizard in the tenth leg and all the composure he seemed to ooze early on had vanished, all square at 5-5 going into the second break.

With Barney noticeably upping the standard, all of a sudden Whitlock was the one hanging on and as they both neared the finish exchanging holds of throw, the pressure was very much the Wizard to break. With the scores level at 8 apiece, Whitlock came within the width of a wire to take out 152 for that needed break of throw, but it was van Barneveld who would take out D4 to go within one leg of the match. Checking out 81 on the bull, Barney would claim victory in a Grand Slam classic.