Glen Durrant also among the qualifiers and will make European Tour debut in Leverkusen
Monday 25 February 2019 11:38, UK
Raymond van Barneveld will make a first return to the European Tour for nearly two years after securing a place at the European Darts Open next month.
The Dutchman has confirmed this will be his last year on the PDC circuit but as he currently sits 29th in the rankings he faces a battle to secure a place at some of the big-money majors later in the year.
The five-time world champion is in Premier League action in Exeter on Thursday before heading to Minehead for the first huge ranking event of the year - the UK Open - and he is well aware of just how difficult 2019 could be.
Barney will have to tough it out in the qualifiers for a lot of the events, and his Barnsley success means he will play at the European Darts Open, an event he won in 2012, in March - however his hopes of a place at the German Darts Championship were ended by defeat to Mario Robbe.
Van Barneveld faces Michael Smith in Exeter having come from four legs down in each of his last two matches to secure a Premier League point but he is still without a victory as he looks to mount a charge of the top four places.
A busy weekend of qualifying took place at the Barnsley Metrodome and before Gerwyn Price's pair of Players Championship victories, Friday night saw a host of names battling it out for a place alongside the elite at the year's opening European Tour events.
Spots in Leverkusen for the European Darts Open and Hildesheim for the German Darts Championship were up for grabs and it was Van Barneveld that headlined the six European Qualifiers for the European Darts Open.
World Youth Champion Dimitri Van den Bergh enjoyed a qualifying double on the night as the only player to win through the European Qualifiers for both events.
Kim Huybrechts, Vincent van der Voort, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Krzysztof Ratajski joined Barney and Van den Bergh is qualifying for the European Darts Open while Gabriel Clemens, Ron Meulenkamp, Madars Razma and Tytus Kanik joined Van den Bergh and Robbe in reaching the German Darts Championship.
The UK Qualifiers for both events saw former European Tour winners Mervyn King and Steve Beaton secure a place at both events as did Josh Payne, Scott Taylor and Martin Atkins.
The headline from the UK section was a pair of nine-darters for Ted Evetts and Ricky Evans and most notably a European Tour debut for Glen Durrant.
Duzza is already a winner on the Pro Tour this year and the three-time BDO world champion will be among the field in Leverkusen for the European Darts Open where former Austrian Open winner Justin Pipe was among the names to win through.
Durrant lost out to Mickey Mansell in their decider for the German Darts Championship and Mansell was joined by the likes of James Wilson, Luke Humphries, Jamie Hughes, Nathan Aspinall and double-major winner Robert Thornton.
The Premier League heads to the Westpoint Arena, Exeter on Thursday, February 28. You can also stay up to date with all the action by following us @SkySportsDarts and get all the latest news, previews and interviews sky.mnosports.com/darts
