RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD and Phil Taylor drew their first match in the Holsten Premier League Darts, and in an incredible night at the Bournemouth BIC, the Dutchman also hit the first nine-dart leg in the competition.
Taylor and van Barneveld went into their clash unbeaten, and it was the latter who had to come from 7-4 down to snatch a point in front of 3,000 fans.
Van Barneveld had created Premier League history in the night's opening game, hitting a perfect nine-dart leg on his way to an 8-3 win over Peter Manley.
The Dutchman led 5-3 before achieving the feat, hitting two maximums before taking out a 141 finish.
In a night which contained three draws, Wayne Mardle grabbed his first point of the year against Colin Lloyd, after seeing Roland Scholten and Ronnie Baxter share the first stalemate of the 2006 Premier League.
Holsten Premier League Darts
Night Five, BIC Bournemouth
Raymond van Barneveld 8-3 Peter Manley
Roland Scholten 7-7 Ronnie Baxter
Colin Lloyd 7-7 Wayne Mardle
Phil Taylor 7-7 Raymond van Barneveld
Highlights will be available on Friday for DartsTV subscribers.
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD 8-3 PETER MANLEY
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD achieved darting perfection during his 8-3 victory over Peter Manley in the Holsten Premier League Darts at the BIC in Bournemouth.
The Dutch superstar hit a perfect nine-dart leg to move 6-3 up against Manley, with both opening with 180's before van Barneveld followed up a second maximum with a 141 finish.
"It's unbelievable," said the 38-year-old. "I've hit a few nine-darters in smaller tournaments before, but never on television.
"I've not got many dreams left in darts any more, one of them is to become the PDC World Champion and another was to hit a televised nine-darter, so I've achieved one of them!"
Barneveld's achievement brought the 3,000 crowd at the BIC to its feet, and ensured that he remains unbeaten ahead of the clash with 13-times World Champion Phil Taylor later in the evening.
The Dutchman averaged 100.69 in the win over Manley, hitting a total of six maximums in the match.
He opened up a 2-0 lead early on and also led 4-1, but the nine-dart leg proved crucial in ensuring his fourth win in as many Premier League clashes.
ROLAND SCHOLTEN 7-7 RONNIE BAXTER
ROLAND SCHOLTEN and Ronnie Baxter battled out the first draw of the 2006 Holsten Premier League Darts after their clash at the BIC ended 7-7.
The duo both remain in the top four following the stalemate, which came to a thrilling climax after Baxter came from behind to earn a point before missing the chance to take the victory.
They shared the opening six legs before Scholten returned from the break to mvoe 5-3 up.
He also led 6-4 before suffering a bout of double trouble, missing six darts to win the next leg before Baxter stepped in to take three on the spin.
At 7-6 up, he had a chance to take both points in the decider, but was off target with his dart at double top to allow Scholten to check out 79 with two darts.
"It's a point I'm not happy with the result," said Scholten. "I could have opened up a gap by winning tonight, but I keep giving other people a lifeline and I can't do that.
"I missed six darts in the 11th leg, and double 16 has been good to me recently. But we both missed doubles and I was pleased to take the chance at the end."
Baxter said: "It's a point and that puts me on five for the year so I'm pleased in one way, but we both missed a few doubles."
COLIN LLOYD 7-7 WAYNE MARDLE
WAYNE MARDLE gained his first point of the 2006 Holsten Premier League Darts when he drew 7-7 with Colin Lloyd in Bournemouth.
Mardle had lost his first five matches, but finally broke his duck against Lloyd.
He admitted afterwards that he was far from his best, but produced a surge when it mattered to move from 5-5 to break Lloyd for the first time in the night before moving 7-5 up.
That ensured a point before Lloyd hit back to win the final two legs, firstly landing the bullseye before then taking out a 102 finish to sneak a point.
The pair traded blows for the opening ten legs, all of which went with the throw as neither could secure an advantage.
"I've got a point but I played terrible again," said Mardle. "My preparation was good but I was a bag of nerves when I got on stage.
"I was shaking like a leaf and you can't play like that. I've got to calm down because I got myself in a good position at 7-5, but I never looked like winning it after that.
"It's not a loss though, so it's a step in the right direction.
"For some reason I can't relax when I'm playing in the Premier League, but that's something I've got to address in a different way next week.
"If I play like I can I know I'll turn it around, but I am so spasmodic at the moment."
PHIL TAYLOR 7-7 RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD came from 7-4 down to snatch a draw with Phil Taylor in their first meeting in the Holsten Premier League Darts.
The Dutchman trailed 7-4 after Taylor came from behind to snatch a point.
But van Barneveld won the final three legs, punishing two missed darts for the match from Taylor as he kept his unbeaten run alive.
Taylor won the opening leg with a 66 finish, but his opponent hit back with three of his own to create a 3-1 cushion.
Taylor responded with a Shanghai 120 finish before landing a bullseye finish to go into the break level.
He took four of the next five legs to secure a point at 7-4, before being pegged back to 7-6.
Both hit three 140 scores in the decider, but van Barneveld stepped in when Taylor missed double top to hit double ten with his third dart and take the point.
"When I was 7-4 up I thought I'd have him, but he did an 11-darter against the throw and he finished well," said Taylor.
"I've got Peter Manley next week, it's in his home town in Carlisle and he'll want to play well.
"At least I haven't lost. Ray's a great player and I'm sure it will be fantastic when we play again in April."
Van Barneveld said: "To be 7-4 down and end up at 7-all, I can't complain. It wasn't my best display and I missed some doubles.
"I played really well against Peter but in this, especially after the break, I wasn't at my best. I was confident enough, but it didn't quite happen.
"I can play better than this, but I'm still unbeaten. I've got nine points now and I'm happy with how I've started.
"We play again on 20 April in Doncaster, which is my birthday, and I will look forward to that."
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