Van Barneveld on support from crowd in Smith defeat: "I prefer that the people chant and that I win"

Raymond van Barneveld failed to start Saturday night's Grand Slam of Darts with a victory. Barney lost his first group match 5-4 to Michael Smith.

Van Barneveld managed to keep up with Smith in the early stages thanks to finishes of 122 and 86. Van Barneveld then took a 4-3 lead, but after two good legs from Smith, he still had to concede.

"You know by now that he hardly misses. In his legs I couldn't really do anything. I should have done better myself, because it went fine apart for that last leg", Van Barneveld told RTL 7 after his match.

The five times world champion could count on the support of the fans in Wolverhampton. The famous 'Barney Army' was often chanted by the audience. ''But I prefer that the people chant and that I win'', Van Barneveld responded.

The Dutch darts legend plays his second group match against Joe Davis on Sunday evening. Smith then takes on Gary Anderson, who won 5-1 against Davis in his first match.