Tonight 32nd Seed and former five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld faces Red Dragon star Ryan Meikle to confirm who Gerwyn Price will face after Christmas. Day 6 of the Cazoo World Darts Championship features the intriguing encounter as the showpiece final match up.
Meikle aka The Barber secured his spot in tonight’s final match at the Alexandra Palace after beating Women’s Series Number 1 Lisa Ashton 3-2, holding of a spirited comeback from the Lancashire Rose after she came from 2-0 to level the match.
The Englishman will have to be at his very best though tonight, as he looks to make the Third Round in North London for the first time. Meikle lost at this stage last year to eventual winner Peter Wright, falling to a 3-0 defeat by Snakebite.
Van Barneveld comes into the Ally Pally on the back of a fantastic Grand Slam campaign, going on to reach the Semi Finals at Aldersley Leisure Village. Barney came top of Group A which included World Number 1 Gerwyn Price and Belgian Darts Open winner Dave Chisnall.
The great Dutchman secured a 10-8 victory over another veteran in Simon Whitlock, before sinking the Iceman once again in Wolverhampton, winning 16-14 despite the Welshman averaging the higher of the two on the oche.
The 55-year-old has never made it beyond the Second Round since 2019, losing in the last match before Christmas against 2018 World Champion Rob Cross twelve months ago. Ryan Meikle will look at performances like James Richardson’s 3-0 victory over van Barneveld in 2012 as inspiration, if he’s to cause another upset at the Ally Pally on Tuesday night.
The five-time World Champion has enjoyed a strong year on the PDC Circuit, securing the last seeded position at this year’s World Championship to avoid the prospect of a First-Round tie. A sensational achievement for someone who retired from the sport after losing to Darin Young in the 2020 World Championship First Round.
The sixth day of action gets underway from 7pm tonight live on Sky Sports Darts as another Red Dragon man in Jamie Hughes gets his fourth consecutive World Championship campaign underway, looking for his first win on the Ally Pally stage against Jimmy Hendriks.
Cazoo 2023 World Darts Championship:
Day 6 Order of Play
Round 1:
Jim Williams v Sebastian Bialecki
Jamie Hughes v Jimmy Hendriks
Ricky Evans v Fallon Sherrock
Round 2:
Raymond van Barneveld (32) v Ryan Meikle
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
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