RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD raised the roof with a 6-3 victory over Michael Smith on Day Two of the Dutch Darts Masters in Zwolle on Saturday, setting up a mouth-watering all-Dutch Last 16 clash with Michael van Gerwen.
Day Two of the seventh European Tour event of 2019 saw Dutch legend Van Barneveld continue his quest for a final ranking title in the Netherlands before his retirement at the end of the year.
The five-time World Champion delighted the thousands of adoring fans packed into the Ijsselhallen arena with a first big-stage win against Michael Smith in over two years.
"Of course it's special, this crowd is amazing - the best crowd ever in Holland," said Van Barneveld, who sealed victory with a 100 finish.
"They make it easy for me to perform, I love them all.
"It’s my last time here in The Netherlands, ranking wise, and tonight was absolutely phenomenal.
"Michael has just won the Premier League, he’s a phenomenal player, but we’re ready for the fight tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it."
Van Barneveld will now face former World Cup of Darts partner Van Gerwen in Sunday afternoon's Last 16, after Van Gerwen got his campaign for a sixth consecutive Dutch Darts Masters title off to the perfect start.
The newly-crowned five-time Premier League Champion also received an overwhelming ovation from the Dutch crowd, as Van Gerwen landed finishes of 148 and 134 in a 6-2 victory over William O'Connor.
"I don't need motivation to play in front of a crowd like this, they are amazing," said world number one Van Gerwen, who averaged 106.88 to O'Connor's 103.51.
"I played well, I didn't make any mistakes and I'm glad to have performed.
"I'm happy because my wife is here to see me play and now I will enjoy this moment before looking forward to tomorrow."
Following Friday's first round of the £140,000 PDC European Tour event, a dramatic Saturday saw the 16 seeded players enter the tournament to face the winners from Day One.
Jermaine Wattimena, who will partner Van Gerwen in June's World Cup of Darts, ran out a 6-4 winner over Danny Noppert in an engrossing all-Dutch affair.
Wattimena will now meet European Darts Grand Prix Champion Ian White, who survived five match darts from Mickey Mansell to run out a relieved 6-5 winner and begin his bid for a fourth successive European Tour final.
Vincent Van der Voort became the fourth Dutchman to advance to the Last 16 with a 6-3 victory over Mensur Suljovic, and he will face German number one Max Hopp, who ruthlessly secured the only whitewash win of the day against Joe Cullen.
In-form fourth seed Gerwyn Price stormed through with a 103.07 average in a 6-1 demolition of rival Krzysztof Ratajski to set up a meeting with Brendan Dolan, who fended off a spirited fight back from Stephen Bunting to win 6-4.
Sixth seed Peter Wright defied a comeback from Ritchie Edhouse to secure a 6-4 triumph and begin his bid for a first Dutch European Tour title, and he will play Simon Whitlock after the Australian number one produced a 103.51 average to see off the challenge of impressive German debutant Florian Hempel 6-3.
German Darts Championship runner-up Ricky Evans landed three ton-plus finishes, including a 125 using two bullseyes, to claim a 6-2 victory over Dutch youngster Danny van Trijp, and he will take on Dave Chisnall, who ran out a comfortable 6-2 winner over Steve Beaton.
A royal display from Mervyn King saw him dump out third seed Daryl Gurney with an emphatic 6-1 victory to set up a tie with Rowby-John Rodriguez, as the Austrian backed up Friday's 108.79 first round average with another eye-catching display in his 6-2 defeat of Darren Webster.
Sweden's Dennis Nilsson, who won his first European Tour match since September 2017 on Friday, battled his way to a 6-5 win over 12th seed Jonny Clayton.
Nilsson will face two-time ProTour event winner Glen Durrant, who received a Bye into the Third Round due to James Wade's withdrawal.
Sunday's third and final day of the Dutch Darts Masters will see the last 16 matches take place in the afternoon session, before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the evening.
All the action will be broadcast on PDCTV-HD, and through a series of bookmakers' websites worldwide.
2019 Dutch Darts Masters
Saturday May 25
Second Round
Afternoon Session
Brendan Dolan 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Florian Hempel
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Danny Noppert
Ricky Evans 6-2 Danny van Trijp
Dennis Nilsson 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Gerwyn Price 6-1 Krzysztof Ratajski
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-2 Darren Webster
Evening Session
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Steve Beaton
Ian White 6-5 Mickey Mansell
Max Hopp 6-0 Joe Cullen
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 William O'Connor
Mervyn King 6-1 Daryl Gurney
Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 Michael Smith
Peter Wright 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Mensur Suljovic
(Glen Durrant receives a Bye into the Third Round due to James Wade's withdrawal)
Sunday May 26
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld
Dave Chisnall v Ricky Evans
Glen Durrant v Dennis Nilsson
Gerwyn Price v Brendan Dolan
Ian White v Jermaine Wattimena
Vincent van der Voort v Max Hopp
Peter Wright v Simon Whitlock
Mervyn King v Rowby-John Rodriguez
Evening Session (1915 local time, 1815 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Van Gerwen/Van Barneveld v Chisnall/Evans
Durrant/Nilsson v Price/Dolan
White/Wattimena v Van der Voort/Hopp
Wright/Whitlock v King/Rodriguez
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order
Format
All games up to and including the quarter-finals are the best of 11 legs, with the semi-finals the best of 13 legs and the final the best of 15 legs.
Prize Fund
Winner: £25,000
Runner-up: £10,000
Semi-Finalists: £6,500
Quarter-Finalists: £5,000
Last 16: £3,000
Last 32: £2,000
Last 48: £1,000
Total: £140,000
Watch Online
PDC European Tour events can be watched online through PDCTV-HD for all subscribers worldwide.
Live coverage with faster streams may also be available at the following bookmakers' websites:
bet365 - www.bet365.com - Worldwide
Bet90 - www.bet90.com - Brazil, Germany
Betfair - www.betfair.com - Brazil, Denmark, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales
Betfred - www.betfred.com - England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
bwin - www.bwin.com - Worldwide
FDJ - www.fdj-gaming-solutions.com - France
Fonbet - www.fonbet.com - Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Russian federation, Ukraine
Fortuna - www.fortunagroup.eu - Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
Legolasbet - www.legolas.bet - Sweden
Ligastavok - www.ligastavok.ru/ - Russia
Marathonbet - www.betmarathon.com - Belarus, Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine
Nike - www.nike.sk - Slovakia
Olimp - www.betolimp.com - Kazakhstan, Russian federation
Paddy Power - www.paddypower.com/ - England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
Stoiximan - www.stoiximan.gr - Cyprus, Greece, Romania
Supabets - www.supabets.com.gh - Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa
Superbet - www.superbet.ro/ - Romania, Poland
Tempobet - www.tempobet.org - Europe
Totogaming - www.totogaming.am/en/ - Armenia
Tipsport - www.tipsport.cz - Czech Republic & Slovakia
Unibet - www.unibet.com - Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom
William Hill - www.williamhill.com - Great Britain, Ireland, Spain
Winlinebet - www.winlinebet.ru - Russia
World Sports Betting - www.worldsportsbetting.co.za - Namibia, South Africa