Raymond van Barneveld excels in stacked exhibition line-up in Salzburg to win tournament

After a creditable week on the Pro Tour, Raymond van Barneveld extended his good form to a exhibition tournament in Salzburg played Friday night.

Van Barneveld was booked along with five other well-known darters for one of PDC Europe's Darts Galas. In a packed Salzburg arena, Van Barneveld proved to be the best of all the players present.

In addition to Barney, Joe Cullen, Jonny Clayton, Rowby-John Rodriguez, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Simon Whitlock were also in attendance. The six players were first divided into two group.

In the first group, Cullen finished in first place, while Van Barneveld got to go through to the last four as number two. For Rodriguez, the tournament was already over in the group stage. Clayton became group winner in the other group, leaving Van Duijvenbode and Whitlock behind.

Van Duijvenbode got to face Cullen in the first semifinal, but it was "The Rockstar" who advanced to the final match. Van Barneveld won over Clayton in the second semifinal, before Barney struck in the final against Cullen to win the tournament.

It is the culmination of a good week for the five-time world champion. Van Barneveld did good business at the Players Championship triple header with an eye on qualifying for the World Matchplay and, with two tournaments left until the cutoff, now has a 5,000-pound lead over the first player outside the virtual field of participants.