Finding Barney back to his old strength?
Retirement from retirement – Raymond van Barneveld will make his long-awaited comeback at the 2022 World Darts Championship on Monday evening. The Dutchman was once one of the PDC’s elite, but then followed a downward slide which ultimately even led to “Barney’s” retirement. The last time the Dutchman took part in a World Championship two years ago van Barneveld retired in the first round.
This time the former world champion is aiming for the big coup. Raymond van Barneveld will start the tournament on Monday evening with a match against Lourence Ilagan in which the best betting companies rate the Dutchman as the clear favourite. For van Barneveld vs. Ilagan only odds of 1.29 are offered for tip 1.
Looking at Lourence Ilagan’s World Championship record so far, it would be more than surprising to see the Filipino reach the first round of a PDC World Championship for the first time in his career this year.
So far Lourence Ilagan has never survived the first round of a World Championship. Opponent Raymond van Barneveld, on the other hand, has only been eliminated in the first round twice in 14 attempts at a PDC World Darts Championship – a good omen ahead of the tournament opener?
Raymond van Barneveld – Statistics & current form
In this calendar year Raymond van Barneveld flew mostly under the radar. The only small success was the Players Championship 3 title in Bolton where the Dutchman won 8:6 in the final of the best-of-15 against Joe Cullen. For “Barney” it was the first title win since the Premier League 2014.
Since then the five-time World Champion delivered rather mixed results at the Players Championships. So it is not foreseeable in which condition the Dutchman will approach the World Darts Championship 2022. Especially as van Barneveld’s recent World Championship record does not inspire optimism.
In his last two World Championship participations Raymond van Barneveld already had to give up at the start of the tournament. In 2019 “Barney” was eliminated in the second round against Labanauskas, only one year later there was even a first round exit against Young, in which van Barneveld won only one set in the best-of-five.
Enough potential for the really big coup?
Tendentially, a first-round exit for the Dutchman can be ruled out this time. After all, “Barney” didn’t deliver bad performances in his last tournament participations. At the Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Raymond van Barneveld just missed in the last group match against Gary Anderson to reach the knockout phase.
In the Players Championship Finals on the other hand the Dutchman was only eliminated against his compatriot van Gerwen. Before van Barneveld eliminated in the PCF 2021 Maik Kuivenhoven – world number 56 of the PDC – with 6:1 from the last 64. Barney” even had an average of 103.99 over seven legs with two 180s thrown.
It is quite possible that with a similar performance a clear win against his upcoming opponent will follow. Betting fans who would like to make a prediction on a white wash from “Barney” on van Barneveld vs Ilagan can pick up odds of up to 1.29 in case of success.
Last games of Raymond van Barneveld:
World Darts Championship
12/20 2021 – Raymond van Barneveld 3 – 0 Lourence Ilagan
Players Championship Finals
11/27 2021 – Michael van Gerwen 6 – 3 Raymond van Barneveld
11/26 2021 – Raymond van Barneveld 6 – 1 Maik Kuivenhoven
Grand Slam of Darts Group H
11/16 2021 – Gary Anderson 5 – 2 Raymond van Barneveld
11/14 2021 – Raymond van Barneveld 5 – 0 Joe Davis
Lourence Ilagan – statistics & current form
Lourence Ilagan is making his sixth appearance in a World Cup in his current career. So far the Filipino was eliminated four times in the first round of a World Darts Championship, in 2009 “The Gunner” even failed in the preliminary round. This year there will be the next attempt for Ilagan.
In the first round Raymond van Barneveld is an unpleasant hurdle. Because he lacked the necessary match practice over the year, the clear underdog role against the former world champion is not at all surprising. In this calendar year the PDC Asian Tour was cancelled.
So far Ilagan played only three matches this year – all in the framework of the Philippine World Championship Qualifier. In the quarterfinals “The Gunner” defeated Wilmer Ong 3:1, followed by a 3:2 win over Christian Perez in the semi-finals. In the final, however, Ilagan outclassed his compatriot Paolo Nebrida 3:1.
Will Ilagan hold his nerve this time?
Nevertheless, none of the recent opponents were anywhere near the calibre of “Barney”. Therefore, the results in the World Cup qualifiers in the Philippines have little meaning with regard to Monday night’s match. Even a set win would be a small surprise against Raymond van Barneveld.
In his last match against Nebrida “The Gunner” had an average of 88,67 with a double rate of 37,50%. Five times Ilagan threw more than 170 points in the four sets against Nebrida, yet the Filipino only had a highest checkout of 68. Those statistics will probably not be enough against “Barney”. This explains the high odds of 3.90 for a success of the underdog in the match van Barneveld vs Ilagan.
Last matches of Lourence Ilagan:
World Darts Championship
12/20 2021 – Raymond van Barneveld 3 – 0 Lourence Ilagan
12/17 2020 – Ryan Murray 3 – 1 Lourence Ilagan
12/17 2019 – Cristo Reyes 3 – 2 Lourence Ilagan
12/17 2018 – Vincent van der Voort 3 – 1 Lourence Ilagan
Shanghai Masters
07/13 2018 – Daryl Gurney 1 – 0 Lourence Ilagan
Raymond van Barneveld – Lourence Ilagan Tip
Raymond van Barneveld didn’t deliver the best performances over the year, but the Dutchman still approaches the World Championship comeback with confidence. After all, Lourence Ilagan is a feasible hurdle in the first round. His opponent has so far always been eliminated in the first round of a World Championship.
To make matters worse, Ilagan did not perform at his best in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. In the final of the Philippine World Cup qualifiers, Ilagan only managed a lacklustre win against Nebrida and had a manageable average of 88.67. Accordingly, it would be more than surprising if “The Gunner” Ilagan mastered the match on Monday night.
We expect a clear show of power for “Barney”, setting the stage for a showdown with Rob Cross. The Dutchman shouldn’t have too many problems against Ilagan over the whole match and should get a clear win. With van Barneveld vs. Ilagan, our betting odds of 3.00 aim for a 3:0 win for “Barney”. We are betting five units for this one.
