Former winner Paul Nicholson was beaten in a 6-5 thriller by Steve 'Bomber' Brown in the first round of the Players Championship.
Barney bounces back, Nicholson out and Part whitewashed
A switch back to his old darts worked wonders for Raymond van Barneveld as he made a flying start to the Cash Converters Players Championship by beating Ronnie Baxter, but former winner Paul Nicholson fell at the first hurdle as he lost to Steve Brown.
2010 champion Nicholson had not played in the competition last year so might have felt like he was defending his title when he appeared in Doncaster - but he suffered a dramatic 6-5 defeat to 'Bomber' Brown.
Brown took for the first two legs before Nicholson got his act together to lead 4-3 and then 5-4 - but the Bristol thrower forced a decider and when Nicholson missed the bull for a 170-finish, Brown nailed tops to seal a classic.
"Paul's a fantastic player and he knows how to win, so to come through that shows my fighting spirit," said Brown. "My last leg was strong and I knew after he missed the bullseye that I couldn't give him a second chance."
World No.3 James Wade progressed to the last 16 with a 6-4 win over Andy Smith and now faces Brown in Saturday's second round.
Happy
After a troubled spell lately, van Barneveld went back to the darts that he had when winning a fifth world title in 2007, and he responded by hitting eight 180s in his 6-3 win over Baxter.
Barney has dropped to eighth in the PDC Order of Merit this year, but with his old darts he averaged over 104 at the Doncaster Domes and he could have played even better had he not missed a few doubles.
"I didn't have a good Grand Slam but I've gone back to this set-up and I've practised well, and I know now what I can do on stage with these darts," said van Barneveld.
"I'm very happy with that performance and to average over 104. If I'd not missed my doubles then I may have averaged 110 and enjoyed a better win, but I'm feeling good."
Van Barneveld plays Scott Rand, a lorry driver from Coventry who enjoyed a 6-2 victory over Jamie Caven in his championship debut.
Round-up
Wes Newton and Peter Wright will also clash on Saturday after coming from 2-0 down to take victory in their games against Richie Burnett and Denis Ovens respectively.
Newton impressed by hitting five 180s, a 177 and a 117-checkout in his 6-3 defeat of Burnett, while Wright bettered that with a 103 average in a 6-4 win over Ovens.
Ovens hit a brace of 120 checkouts in the game, but could only watch on as Lowestoft's Wright powered home five 180s and a 121-finish before sealing victory by taking out 130 on the bull.
Grand Slam of Darts semi-finalist Mark Walsh carried on his impressive recent form with a 6-3 win over left-hander Mark Hylton and will now take on Wayne Jones in the second round.
Jones was also in strong form, whitewashing three-time World Champion John Part 6-0 with a thrilling performance as he moved into the last 16.
