Van Barneveld faces must win game to keep title hopes alive
Published:It’s been a difficult year for Raymond van Barneveld – on and off the oche. But he should get things back on track with a win against Darryl Fitton in his final Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts Group F game this evening.
Van Barneveld has had to endure a dreadful year in which he has been threatened with blackmail. Those problems, understandably, affected his form at the oche, but he should have more than enough to see off Fitton in the evening’s final game.
The Englishman lost his opening clash 5-4 against Colin Lloyd before narrowly coming through 5-3 against Tricia Lloyd in his last game. Van Barneveld is favourite in the darts betting at 4/11 and should come out on top in this qualification decider.
The other game in Group F sees Lloyd, who has already qualified, face Tricia Wright. The PDC Unicorn Women’s World Championship finalist is out of the competition after losing to Van Barneveld and Fitton and should be swept aside again tonight. Lloyd an absolutely massive favourite at 1/66.
Group E also reaches its conclusion tonight, with Scott Waites already through to the second round. He faces bottom of the table Adrian Lewis and should continue his 100 per cent record with a win at a very tempting 5/6 – the same odds as his winless opponent.
Co Stompe and Martin Phillips face each other to decide who will join Waites in the second round. With both players beating Lewis but losing to Waites, this promises to be a very close encounter – and the odds seem to back this up.
Both players are at 5/6 in the darts betting, but with Stompe winning two more legs than his opponent so far, he could be the one to stick your cash on.
Could Tricia Wright get an unexpected win? Click here for the full darts betting odds
