Barney secures Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts return through qualifiers

Raymond van Barneveld (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

Former champion Raymond van Barneveld headlined the eight Tour Card Holders for the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts on Friday.

Click here to buy Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts tickets through Ticketmaster.

The 2012 Grand Slam of Darts champion won through the last-chance qualifier for PDC Tour Card Holders at the Barnsley Metrodome.

Van Barneveld will play in Wolverhampton for the first time since 2018, after defeating Alan Soutar, Danny Noppert and Brendan Dolan.

Northern Ireland's Dolan led 4-3, but failed to close out the win as Van Barneveld levelled and then won the deciding leg with a 14-darter.

"I'm very emotional," said Van Barneveld. "I'm a former winner of the Grand Slam and I'm really, really happy.

"Alan Soutar has beaten me two times already this year, and after that I had Danny Noppert, who has been playing his best darts in the last few weeks, and then I had Brendan Dolan.

"I think he missed match darts but sometimes you need a bit of luck and I'm over the moon to get through.

"It was such a special memory for me when I won the Grand Slam and I can't wait to be a part of this tournament again."

Thursday's Players Championship 30 winner Krzysztof Ratajski continued his run of form to secure a spot in the Grand Slam, defeating William O'Connor 5-1 in their decider.

The German pair of Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler will also compete in the Grand Slam after defeating Callan Rydz and former Grand Slam finalist Dave Chisnall respectively in their final clashes.

Stephen Bunting, a World Championship semi-finalist in January, defeated Steve Brown to qualify, while Mike De Decker won an all-Belgian decider with Kim Huybrechts 5-3.

Croatia's Boris Krcmar will make his Grand Slam debut after defeating Ross Smith 5-1 in their final clash, while Ryan Joyce came from 4-0 down to defeat Daryl Gurney as he qualified.

See full results in the Match Centre.

See match stats with DartConnect.

The Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts will be held from November 13-21 at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton.

Click here to buy tickets through Ticketmaster.

2021 Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts
Tour Card Holder Qualifier
Last 16

Mike De Decker 5-3 Kim Huybrechts
Gabriel Clemens 5-1 Callan Rydz
Stephen Bunting 5-3 Steve Brown
Raymond van Barneveld 5-4 Brendan Dolan
Martin Schindler 5-4 Dave Chisnall
Ryan Joyce 5-4 Daryl Gurney
Krzysztof Ratajski 5-1 William O'Connor
Boris Krcmar 5-1 Ross Smith