By David Williams
Gerwyn Price booked his last 16 spot, as he eased past Raymond van Barneveld, and hopes Barney will ‘zip it’, after ending the Dutchman’s unbeaten record against the Iceman on television.
It was an eventful day on Tuesday as the tournament returned from its Christmas break, with Wright becoming the biggest name casualty this year so far after a 4-1 loss to Huybrechts.
The defending champion was a long way from his best, winning the first set but then losing four on the spin and averaging just 91.28 for the contest.
The Belgian knew he was taking on a shadow of peak Snakebite, but he didn’t care, thrilled to return to the last 16 where he will face countryman Dimitri van den Bergh.
https://twitter.com/SkySportsDarts/status/1607851261247868930
Earlier in the evening there was a classic match which saw Gabriel Clemens edge Jim Williams 4-3 after brilliant performances from both, followed by Price cruising to a 4-0 win over Van Barneveld.
Barney had beaten the world number one twice at the recent Grand Slam of Darts, keeping up his unbeaten record against the Iceman on television.
Price was extremely motivated to end that run and take that particular feather out of Barney’s cap, which he did in style.
‘I just wanted to get a win over Raymond so he can zip it a little bit and not keep talking about how many times he’s beat me on TV,’ said Price.
https://twitter.com/DartsCymru/status/1607838633695870976
‘I don’t think he’s been on any TV events the last couple of years so it’s pretty difficult to beat him if he’s not there.
‘I think he played me when I was just starting, two or three years ago, but when I’m at my game I think he knows that I’m going to beat him.’
Price now takes on either Ryan Searle or Jose De Sousa in the last 16, while Clemens plays either Danny Noppert or Alan Soutar.
Tournament favourite Michael van Gerwen is back in action on Wednesday night as he takes on Mensur Suljovic in the evening session, with Michael Smith also expected to progress when he plays Martin Schindler.