Van Barneveld Will Miss World Matchplay and Two European Tour Qualifiers

Raymond van Barneveld will not play at the World Matchplay in his last season on the PDC circuit. Unforeseen circumstances forced Van Barneveld to pull out of this weekend’s Pro Tour double-header in Wigan.

Van Barneveld will also miss the two European Tour qualifiers on Friday, where he only entered the second qualification tournament. As a result of his withdrawal the 52-year-old can no longer qualify for the World Matchplay.

“Unfortunately I had to withdraw for the upcoming Pro Tours and European Tour qualifier this weekend. This means I will miss the World Matchplay. There was no other solution. I will keep my focus on the remaining events this year”, the Dutchman said on Twitter.

Van Barneveld’s management didn’t want to elucidate the unforeseen circumstances after questions from Dartsnews. They call it personal reasons.

The five-time World Champion needed a good result this weekend to have a small chance to qualify for the World Matchplay in Blackpool. With just three evens to go, he was £11.250 behind the provisional spots.

After his switch to the PDC, Van Barneveld had twelve consecutive participations at the World Matchplay, with a final in 2010 as his best result. The Dutch legend reached the quarter-finals in 2011, but failed to get past the second round during his last seven appearances.

The European Tour Order of Merit has been updated after the latest event in the form of the Danish Darts Open in Copenhagen which was won by Dave Chisnall.

Simon Whitlock, Joe Cullen, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall with their runs this weekend have all but secured their spot in the European Championship this past weekend after eight out of 13 events.

Jonny Clayton who also performed well this past weekend before losing out to eventual champion Dave Chisnall also is likely confirmed meaning that going into the last five events, there are around 13 spots up for grabs.

This will be good news for Michael Smith who is currently sitting outside the qualification spots by around £2000. This means that a good run for the St Helens ace will mean he will be involved and the same can be said for most players currently sitting outside the top 32.

Chisnall also had a good weekend in terms of the Order of Merit; with him up to fourth alongside the other three winners on the European Tour this year.

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