RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD won his first title since joining the Professional Darts Corporation in February when he defeated Ronnie Baxter 2-1 in the final of the Budweiser UK Open Midlands Regional Final.
The Dutchman was in imperious form in Sheffield, storming past Colin Lloyd and Richie Burnett on Sunday without dropping a leg.
He then averaged 100.94 in the final against Baxter, taking the first set with three 13-dart legs.
Baxter hit back to win the second 3-1, but van Barneveld held his nerve to take the final set in a decider.
"I'm very happy," he said. "This is very satisfying because I've had to beat so many great players to win this.
"I played nine games in total and had to beat Bob Anderson, Adrian Lewis and Lionel Sams yesterday just to get into the last eight, so I'm delighted.
"I feel I played very well, I hit a lot of 12 and 13 dart legs during the event and this means I will go to the finals in Bolton in good form."
Baxter reached the final with a 2-1 defeat of Andy Jenkins in a semi-final which went to the wire, with Steve Beaton, Wayne Mardle and Dennis Priestley joining Lloyd in being the losing quarter-finalists.
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Picture courtesy Stuart Radford
Budweiser UK Open Midlands Regional Final
Quarter-Finals
Ronnie Baxter 5-2 Steve Beaton
Andy Jenkins 5-2 Wayne Mardle
Richie Burnett 5-1 Dennis Priestley
Raymond van Barneveld 5-0 Colin Lloyd
Semi-Finals
Ronnie Baxter 2-1 Andy Jenkins (2-3, 3-2, 3-2)
Raymond van Barneveld 2-0 Richie Burnett (3-0, 3-0)
Final
Raymond van Barneveld 2-0 Ronnie Baxter (3-0, 1-3, 3-2)
QUARTER-FINALS
STEVE BEATON 2-5 RONNIE BAXTER
RONNIE BAXTER progressed to the semi-finals with a 5-2 win over Steve Beaton.
The world number three has performed consistently well in the Regional Final, and continued his good form in Sheffield.
The opening four legs went with the throw to leave the scores tied at 2-2 before Baxter found another gear.
He punished Beaton for a missed dart at double top to move 3-2 up, and then broke his opponent's throw with an 82 finish after Beaton again missed a double, this time for a 144 finish.
Beaton enjoyed a welcome return to form during the weekend, but was unable to claw his way back against Baxter, who landed double 17 to claim the match in the next leg.
WAYNE MARDLE 2-5 ANDY JENKINS
ANDY JENKINS stormed into the semi-finals, overcoming Wayne Mardle 5-2 in their last eight contest.
Jenkins was in brilliant form, taking the opening four legs without reply to set himself up for the victory.
He hit a 110 finish to break the throw in the opening leg, punished six missed darts at doubles in the third and then took out a 138 checkout in leg four.
Despite a second maximum of the game from Jenkins in the next leg, Mardle managed to get off the mark with a 71 finish.
He also took out double ten to pull back to 4-2, but back-to-back 180s from Jenkins set up an 11-dart leg to seal the win.
RICHIE BURNETT 5-1 DENNIS PRIESTLEY
RICHIE BURNETT overcame Dennis Priestley 5-1 to move into the last four of the Midlands Regional Final.
The Welshman roared into a 4-0 lead against the Yorkshireman, landing two maximums and including a 13-dart leg.
Priestley took out 145 to stay in the match in the fifth leg, with two 140s from Burnett putting him in sight of the winning post.
The former World Champion did not have to wait long to complete the win, checking out 81 in three darts for the match.
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD 5-0 COLIN LLOYD
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD picked up his second win over Colin Lloyd inside four days with a 5-0 whitewash in the Budweiser UK Open Midlands Regional Final.
The Dutchman won 8-3 when the pair met in the Holsten Premier League on Thursday, and repeated the dose in Sheffield.
Lloyd missed two darts at doubles to win the first leg, with van Barneveld never looking back after stepping in with double ten.
He won the next two legs with 76 finishes before moving 4-0 up with a 12-darter, hitting scores of 140, 140 and 105 before checking out 116.
Lloyd battled on, but was unable to reach the double in the fifth leg, with his opponent sealing the win by landing double top.
SEMI-FINALS
RONNIE BAXTER 2-1 ANDY JENKINS (2-3, 3-2, 3-2)
RONNIE BAXTER edged out Andy Jenkins in a deciding leg to move into the final of the Budweiser UK Open Midlands Regional Final with a 2-1 win.
The world number three had to come from a set down to take the win, with all three sets going the distance.
Jenkins stepped in to take the first set against the throw, hitting an 11-darter in the fourth leg and then landing double top for the set after Baxter missed double 16.
Baxter responded with a 12-darter to open the second set, and moved 2-0 up before Jenkins hit back to level matters.
Baxter was first to the double in the deciding leg though, taking out double top to square the game.
The first four legs of the deciding set went with the throw to take the match into the last leg, with Baxter opening up with a 180 and 140 and checking out 96 for a 12-darter and the match.
RICHIE BURNETT 0-2 RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD (0-3, 0-3)
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD powered past Richie Burnett to reach the final of the Budweiser UK Open Midlands Regional Final with a straight sets win.
The Dutchman overcame Colin Lloyd 5-0 in his quarter-final clash, and took six straight legs to see off Burnett in style.
He hit a 177 scoreline on the way to winning the opening leg, and then hit a 14-darter in the second.
Burnett landed a maximum in the third, but missed two darts at double 12 to allow van Barneveld to land double 16 at the fourth attempt.
He stepped into top gear in the second set, opening with a 13-dart leg and taking the second in 12, despite two 140s from Burnett.
The Welshman also landed two 140s in the third leg, but van Barneveld landed another maximum before 139 left him double top for a 13-darter to seal the win.
FINAL
RONNIE BAXTER 1-2 RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD (0-3, 3-1, 2-3)
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD won his first title since joining the Professional Darts Corporation in February when he defeated Ronnie Baxter 2-1 in the final of the Budweiser UK Open Midlands Regional Final.
The Dutchman was in imperious form in Sheffield, storming past Colin Lloyd and Richie Burnett on Sunday without dropping a leg.
He then averaged 100.94 in the final against Baxter, taking the first set with three 13-dart legs.
Baxter hit back with an 84 finish to take the first leg of the second set, but van Barneveld landed double three to level matters.
World number three Baxter landed his first maximum of the match on the way to winning the third leg, and landed double ten to take the set 3-1.
The pair shared the first four legs of the third set to take the game into deciding final leg.
Van Barneveld landed two 140s to leave Baxter behind, and took out double four with his last dart - with his opponent sat on 60 - to seal the win.