Van Barneveld compliments Anderson after Grand Slam exit: 'Gary played great, credits to him'

Raymond van Barneveld failed to qualify for the second round at the Grand Slam of Darts. The 54-year-old Dutchman went down 5-2 against Gary Anderson in his last group match.

Van Barneveld had an average of almost 100, but came up against an impressive Anderson who had an average of almost 104. "I felt great all evening. In the warm up I missed the double 12 for a nine-darter. But Gary played great, honestly I didn't expect that given his level of the last few months. Credits to him", Van Barneveld said to RTL 7.

For the five-time world champion it was only his second major televised tournament this year after the UK Open in March.

"Of course it was great to play on such a big stage. But you have to be realistic, if you lose two out of three matches it's just not good enough. So I can't take a lot of positive things with me to the next tournaments."