Ronnie Rumbled By Barney

01/01/2010

Ronnie crashed out of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship after a dissapointing 5-0 defeat against Raymond van Barneveld.

Baxter failed to find the form he had produced in his previous matches in allowing the Dutchman to make comfortable progress to a semi-final meeting with Simon Whitlock at Alexandra Palace.

The Dutchman had struggled against tiredness in seeing off Kevin Painter in the last 16, but showed no ill-effects in sweeping to a third straight-sets win of the tournament so far.
Barney won the first leg of the match in impressive fashion by hitting the bullseye to convert an 85 finish, and also went on to win the next two legs as he wrapped up the first set with ease.

The second set followed a similar pattern as van Barneveld doubled his lead without dropping a leg, winning the first leg with a 12-darter after recording an 81 finish, the second in 15 darts and the third on double top to extend his cushion.

Van Barneveld won a seventh leg on the trot to make a winning start to the third set before Baxter finally got off the mark with a 13-dart finish to win the second leg.

The five-time World Champion hit his third maximum of the game in process of taking a 2-1 lead, and then won the set in the fourth leg by hitting double eight leaving Ronnie with a massive uphill struggle.

Van Barneveld continued to dominate as he broke throw at the start of the fourth set courtesy of a 93 finish. He then won the second leg with an accurate dart at double 16 after Baxter had missed an opportunity at the same bed.

Van Barneveld hit an 80 finish in the third to give him the set after Baxter missed two more chances at double 16, before the Dutchman won the opening leg of the fifth set.

Baxter hit a 180 in the process of taking just his second leg of the match to level in 13 darts, and then recorded a 120 checkout to ahead in a set for the first time.

But van Barneveld won the fourth leg with an 88 finish and closed out the game with a clinical two-dart 100 checkout.