Raymond van Barneveld took victory in the PDC’s third European Tour Event, beating Dave Chisnall 6-4 in the final to seal the £15,000 title on the day that James Hubbard secured qualification for the Betfair World Matchplay.

‘Barney’ saw off Chisnall on Sunday evening in Germany, after victories against James Wade and Richie Burnett had booked his place in the final.

“Maybe this is the sign of a new Raymond,” said the Dutchman who also beat Ian White, Brendan Dolan and Gino Vos en route to victory.

“I had some tough games but I kept fighting and never gave in and this is where it has got me.”

Hubbard earned an army of Germans fans by putting together a brilliant run to the quarter-finals of the European Darts Open in Dusseldorf, to seal qualification for the World Matchplay in his first year as a professional.

The 19-year-old sensation followed up victories over Andy Hamilton and Steve Brown with a 6-3 triumph over Mark Walsh, sealing a spot at the Blackpool tournament.

“I’m over the moon to achieve something that I would have laughed at this time last year, ” said Hubbard, whose brilliant run in Dusseldorf was ended by a quarter-final defeat to Richie Burnett.

Photo: Carsten Arlt/PDC Europe

“I’m looking forward to playing in a venue that I’ve never been to but heard so many brilliant things about.”

Mervyn King continued his return to form with a run to the semi-finals.

‘The King’ reached the last four with a resounding 6-2 defeat of Colin Osborne, in which he posted an average of over 105, before losing out to Chisnall, who had edged past Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals.

King’s World Matchplay place was also confirmed during the course of the tournament, with Robert Thornton, Paul Nicholson and Vincent van der Voort also qualifying for the prestigious tournament.

By Chris Murphy

The 32 players competing in the Betfair World Matchplay later this month have been confirmed following the third round of the European Darts Open.

PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion James Hubbard sealed his spot with victory in Dusseldorf on Sunday afternoon, after Robert Thornton and Mervyn King had guaranteed their places in the Blackpool tournament with good runs in Germany.

Michael van Gerwen had already qualifed through the Pro-Tour order of merit before reaching the last 16 of the PDC’s third European Tour event.

The top 16 Pro-Tour qualifiers are joined by the top 16 in the PDC order of merit, which includes MODUS stars James Wade, Simon Whitlock, Raymond van Barneveld, Mark Webster, Paul Nicholson and Vincent van der Voort.

Qualification is confirmed for all of the players listed below, however seeding positions may change in accordance with the prize money won in the European Darts Open on Sunday evening.

The top 16 from the PDC Order of Merit who will qualify are as follows (in current seeding order) *
1 Phil Taylor
2 Adrian Lewis
3 James Wade
4 Gary Anderson
5 Wes Newton
6 Simon Whitlock
7 Raymond van Barneveld
8 Andy Hamilton
9 Mark Webster
10 Terry Jenkins
11 Kevin Painter
12 Justin Pipe
13 Dave Chisnall
14 Mark Walsh
15 Paul Nicholson
16 Vincent van der Voort

The 16 ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers (in current order) are *
Kim Huybrechts
Michael van Gerwen
Ronnie Baxter
Colin Lloyd
Andy Smith
Ian White
Brendan Dolan
Michael Smith
Richie Burnett
Mervyn King
Robert Thornton
James Hubbard
Colin Osborne
Dean Winstanley
Steve Beaton
Joe Cullen

By Chris Murphy

* Bold text indicates MODUS associated players