Raymond van Barneveld eliminated by Brendan Dolan at the World Matchplay
Tuesday 19 July 2016 10:42, UK
Raymond van Barneveld became the latest big name to tumble out of the World Matchplay after Brendan Dolan pulled off a shock 10-7 win.
The Dutch legend was never able to break, missing four darts to win a leg against the throw, and paid a heavy price with a first-round exit in Blackpool, following James Wade out of the tournament.
Dolan, No 21 on the PDC's order of merit, earned the biggest win of his year after failing to progress beyond the last 16 of any singles competition so far.
The first nine legs went with the throw, with 11th-seed Van Barneveld unable to establish the dominance that his seeding suggested he should.
Dolan broke to go 6-4 up and forced Barney to fiercely battle to hold his next throw - but the Northern Irishman eventually did enough to book a second-round match against Mervyn King.
Phil 'The Power' Taylor kept his hopes of a 16th Matchplay title alive by eliminating the spirited Robbie Green.
The PDC's 56th-ranked Green gave Taylor plenty of trouble and forced the 15-time champion to fight for his 10-8 win until the bitter end.
Taylor had cancelled out Green's early 2-0 lead but never looked likely to run away with the match - even when the underdog missed a dart to break for 7-7 he refused to wilt.
The 16-time world champion was far from prolific on his doubles, hitting just 34 percent, but withstood Green's challenge to confirm a second-round match against Mensur Suljovic.
Steve Beaton earned a surprise victory by eliminating the up-and-coming Jelle Klaasen after a 10-6 win.
'The Bronzed Adonis' reached the semi-finals of this tournament 15 years ago but, as No 26 on the PDC's order of merit, was never expected to topple the 10th seed Klaasen.
Beaton opened a two-break lead to go 7-4 ahead and although Klaasen cranked up the pressure by breaking back, it was too late for the talented Dutchman.
Seventh-seed Michael Smith wasn't overly troubled by the veteran Simon Whitlock, winning 10-6 against the two-time semi-finalist.
