Raymond van Barneveld beats Phil Taylor 7-6 in a special Darts From Home match as the legends raise £15,000 for the NHS

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Thu April 09, 2020 · 5y ago

Raymond van Barneveld came from 6-3 down to defeat Phil Taylor 7-6 in a special 'Darts From Home' match that raised £15,000 for the NHS.

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Almost three years on from their last of 83 their competitive meetings, the two arch-rivals battled it out from their own living rooms using electronic soft tip Target Nexus boards, which have built-in webcams and microphones so players can see their opponent's visits.

The match was organised and streamed by Paddy Power, who donated £1,000 for each of the 15 180s that were hit by the two legends (10 by Taylor) to the NHS charity Heroes as the battle against the Covid-19 crisis continues.

Judging from the living rooms, if this is the first Taylor v van Barneveld match you've ever seen, you'll think Barney won a lot more trophies! pic.twitter.com/ayZoe6tI2i
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) April 9, 2020

Although the Power dominated their head-to-head record with 61 victories over the Dutchman during their glittering careers, Barney did enjoy some notable victories of his own - including that unforgettable 2007 World Championship final after just one season with the PDC - and this latest one had it's fair share of drama too.

The five-time world champion made an impressive 161 checkout, with Taylor waiting on six, to move 2-0 up but the 59-year-old battled back brilliantly with finishes of 151, 134, 116 and 113 in the next five legs moved him 4-3 ahead.

Taylor, who won 16 World Championships and 16 World Matchplays among his 77 major titles, moved to the brink of victory by taking the next two and almost sealed it in spectacular fashion with a nine-darter after leaving 141.

Barney nicked the leg as his comeback forced a decider, while he too almost achieved perfection himself during this run when missing double 12 after back-to-back 180s.

The 52-year-old, who retired after his disappointingly early exit at the World Championship in December, held his nerve in a deciding leg as he ran out a 7-6 winner - the same scoreline of 'that' Circus Tavern final of 2007, albeit in legs.

Taylor admitted before the match that he would be tempted to come out of retirement briefly at next year's UK Open through a Riley's Qualifier and you'd certainly be backing his chances to compete with the very best again if his average of 118 - one fewer than Barney's - and maximum count of 10 had been achieved on the steel tip board rather than the Nexus!

Raymond van Barneveld v Phil Taylor play each other from home

Scroll down for head-to-head stats and career achievements

The darting legends raised thousands for charity

Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld: Head-to-head

Overall H2H: 61-18, 4 draws
TV Meetings Since Barney joined PDC in 2006: 39-14, 4 draws
World Championship Meetings: 3-2
All PDC Finals: 11-2
Televised Finals: 9-2
Major TV Finals: 5-1
18-12: 2010 World Matchplay
6-3: 2009 World Grand Prix
13-11: 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic
7-1: 2009 World Championshio
6-2: 2008 World Grand Prix
6-7: 2007 World Championship
Meetings from 2016-2017: 8-3

Phil Taylor career highlights

77 major titles (72 in PDC)
101 TV titles (96 in PDC)
237 overall titles (185 in PDC)
11 televised nine-darters

PDC Major titles

14 x PDC World Champion (1995-2002, 2004-2006, 2009, 2010, 2013)
16 x World Matchplay champion (1995, 1997, 2000-2004, 2006, 2008-2014, 2017)
11 x World Grand Prix champion (1998-2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013)
5 x UK Open champion (2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013)
6 x Grand Slam of Darts champion (2007-2009, 2011, 2013, 2014)
6 x Premier League champion (2005-2008, 2010, 2012)
4 x European Champion (2008-2011)
3 x Players Championship Finals champion (2009, 2011, 2012)
Masters champion (2013)
Champions League of Darts winner (2016)
5x Las Vegas Desert Classic (2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009)
Masters of Darts (2005)
4x World Cup winner (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016)

BDO Major Titles