Raymond van Barneveld was one of four Dutch players to beat their PDC representative opponent and move through to quarter final day at the Dutch Darts Masters.

Barney came from behind to beat Rob Cross 6-5, setting up another tie with reigning World Series of Darts champion Michael van Gerwen, who himself beat fellow Dutchman and good friend Vincent van der Voort 6-1.

Young players Kevin Doets and Gian Van Veen dumped out World Champions in the shape of Peter Wright and Michael Smith respectively. The other PDC representative knocked out was Nathan Aspinall, as the World Matchplay Champion lost 6-2 to world number seven Danny Noppert.

Elsewhere on day one of the Dutch Darts Masters, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries took victory in their games to set up a quarter final rematch of the World final. Gerwyn Price also knocked out defending champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.

Barney battles back to set up showdown with Van Gerwen

Cross took the opening two legs in 25 darts in the battle between the two World Champions. He then missed seven darts in leg three to move halfway to the finishing line. This allowed Barney to get into the game, winning the next two legs to level.

Both traded holds until Cross missed double seven in the seventh leg. Van Barneveld then pounced with an 81 to break, but the Englishman took out 61 to get the break back and level at 4-4. Both then held again to set up a decider, where Cross missed two match darts, finishing 5/20 on the outer ring. Much to the delight of the adoring crowd in Den Bosch, who barely stopped singing his name during the game, Barney then hit double 12 after a 177 the previous visit to make the last eight and send Cross home.

It sets up another game against van Gerwen, evoking memories of classic ties between the two Dutch doyens of darts. Barney will know though he will have to up his game to get close to The Green Machine tomorrow.

The three time World Champion barely rose out of second gear against Van der Voort, who has struggled for form in recent years. MvG averaged 94.06, as he won three legs on the spin in between The Dutch Destroyer getting his only leg of the contest to register a 6-1 victory.

Van Gerwen lost last week in the final of the Bahrain Darts Masters to Luke Littler, and will be looking to get back to winning ways in front of his home crowd tomorrow.

What else happened on day one of the Dutch Darts Masters?

For the other PDC representatives to lose tonight, it’s not the confidence boost they were looking for ahead of the BetMGM Premier League Darts for 2024, for which they’re all involved.

Nathan Aspinall, despite debuting a new shirt on stage, was clinically dealt with Noppert. The world number four averaged just 88.3, as from 1-1, Noppie won four legs on the spin en route to a 6-2 victory.

Noppert himself will play another Dutch winner, in Gian van Veen, after he dumped out the 2023 World Champion Michael Smith 6-3. The game turned when Van Veen hit a 107 to level the match at 2-2, and he grew in confidence. He won three legs on the spin, before holding in the ninth leg to send Bully Boy home.

Arguably though, the biggest player who will have concerns next week will be Peter Wright. He averaged just 81.65, while his opponent Kevin Doets averaged over 98. Wright landed just 2/8 on the outer ring, as Doets completed an easy 6-2 victory over the two time World Champion.

Doets reward for knocking out Wright is to play Gerwyn Price, who beat reigning champion Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 to move into the last eight. Price won the first four legs, and despite Van den Bergh winning three of the next four to make it slightly interesting, The Iceman kept his cool to win with a 14 darter in statistically the game of the night. Price hit an average of 103.43 and two 180s, while The Dream Maker found a 102.43 average and five maximums.

Finally, the two Lukes will once again play each other a mere four weeks from their epic World Darts Championship Final, and ahead of the pair meeting again in Cardiff next week for the opening night of the Premier League.

Luke Littler saw off Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2, in a game where it was clear The Titan was still recovering from the surgery he had towards the back end of last year.

Luke Humphries though produced a very comfortable 6-0 whitewash of Jermaine Wattimena. Machine Gun did not get going, as the World Champion looks to win his first event since becoming the holder of the Sid Waddell Trophy tomorrow.

2024 Dutch Darts Masters Day One Results

First Round

Danny Noppert 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Kevin Doets 6-2 Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Gian van Veen 6-3 Michael Smith
Raymond van Barneveld 6-5 Rob Cross
Luke Littler 6-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Humphries 6-0 Jermaine Wattimena
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Vincent van der Voort
Best of 11 legs

2024 Dutch Darts Masters Day Two Schedule of Play

Saturday 27 January (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)

Quarter Finals

Luke Littler v Luke Humphries
Gerwyn Price v Kevin Doets
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld
Gian van Veen v Danny Noppert
Best of 11 legs

Semi Finals
Littler/Humphries v Price/Doets
Van Gerwen/Van Barneveld v Van Veen/Noppert

Best of 13 legs

Final
Littler/Humphries/Price/Doets v Van Gerwen/Van Barneveld/Van Veen/Noppert
Best of 15 legs