Van Barneveld into Quarter-Finals on European Tour for first time since 2016

Raymond van Barneveld followed up his victory over Michael van Gerwen successfully by also eliminating Ryan Searle at the European Darts Matchplay.

With the victory over Searle, Van Barneveld qualified for the last eight of a tournament on the PDC European Tour for the first time since 2017.

Again, the doubles were excellent, with a finish percentage of 50 percent. Van Barneveld showed his sharpness in the third leg with a magnificent 170 finish, but then missed two chances to cash in on his break lead. Searle broke back moments later and then grabbed the lead himself by hitting a 13-darter and a 167 checkout to make it 5-3.

However, the Dutchman did not give in yet. With two 14 darts in a row, 'Barney' made up the deficit. Van Barneveld had to break Searle once more, however, as the Englishman started the last leg.

Searle hit the trebles easier in the deciding leg and was allowed to throw from 59 for the match. His two darts on tops were missed, after which Van Barneveld still had a chance from 106. Van Barneveld found the triple 18 with his second dart, but missed the double 16 by a wide margin.

However, the 56-year-old got another chance as Searle left another three match darts unused in the following turn. That gift was unwrapped by Van Barneveld and with a dart in the middle of the double 12 he qualified for the last eight in Trier.

On Sunday night, Van Barneveld will play in the quarterfinals against Joe Cullen, who was able to deal with Ryan Joyce in the third round after a thrilling match.

A key moment in the match between Cullen and Joyce was the ninth leg, in which Joyce missed one chance at tops to make it 5-4. Then "The Rockstar" dealt a huge sledgehammer blow by finishing 150. Cullen then secured victory with a 48 finish on his own leg.