Gerwyn Price faces a legend at Alexandra Palace (Picture: Getty Images)
Gerwyn Price and Raymond van Barneveld both sound confident ahead of their eye-catching World Darts Championship showdown on Tuesday night, warning each other that they cannot wait for the clash.
The pair came through round two at Alexandra Palace before Christmas, with Price beating Luke Woodhouse 3-1 and Van Barneveld downing Ryan Meikle by the same scoreline.
While it would be an appealing match at any point, the meeting is all the more spicy after the Grand Slam of Darts in November, which saw the Dutchman beat the Welshman twice; once in the group stage and then 16-13 in the quarter-finals.
The Iceman is confident that those two defeats will not impact the meeting this week, though, and warns Barney that he will be better this time around.
‘In the Grand Slam I was pretty steady but a lot of players were playing well against me, especially Raymond in the two games,’ Price told the Love The Darts Podcast before the tournament.
‘I don’t think he beat me. I bombed the two games because I missed chances. I failed to win seven legs on the bounce, which isn’t my game.
‘Raymond played really well but I think I lost the game rather than him winning, so if I get through the first round at the Worlds then I’ll be more than ready for Raymond. I’ve never beat him on TV but I’m sure if I get through this will be the first time.’
He added after winning his opening contest at Alexandra Palace: ‘When my back is against the wall and I need to have those big moments, they are there.
‘In the last three or four months I’ve started to find my feet again. I know in my head that the form is there, and I know how well I can play.
‘Raymond is playing some decent darts lately. It’s going to be a fantastic game, but I’m ready for it.’
Raymond van Barneveld is enjoying his darts again (Picture: Getty Images)
Five-time world champion Barney is producing the best darts that he has managed in years and the two wins over the world number one at the Grand Slam were huge confidence boosters.
While he is not quite seen as a threat to win a sixth world title this time around, he doesn’t see why not, feeling that he can still beat anyone on his day.
The 55-year-old said: ‘I read an article about Michael van Gerwen, where he said “maybe Ray can’t win the World Championship because it’s in a longer format”.
‘I beat Gerwyn in the group stage at the Grand Slam of Darts, and everyone was thinking: “Ray playing Gerwyn in a best of 31 – he can’t do this”, but I did.
‘I feel comfortable and if you believe and you have the willpower to succeed – you can do it. I have this willpower, but statistics don’t matter. Tuesday is a new day.
‘We both have to work hard to make this a fantastic game and I’m really looking forward to this, because I love to play Gerwyn.’
Tuesday December 27
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Krzysztof Ratajski
Nathan Aspinall v Josh Rock
Jonny Clayton v Brendan Dolan
Evening Session (7pm)
Jim Williams v Gabriel Clemens
Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright v Kim Huybrechts
MORE : Joe Cullen and Jonny Clayton react to wins as just 32 players remain at World Darts Championship
MORE : Ross Smith aiming for the big time after taking the long road to the top of darts
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‘It’s going to be a fantastic game, but I’m ready for it.’
