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The 16-year-old Englishman Archie Self threw a nine-darter during the MODUS Super Series on Wednesday, reportedly breaking Luke Littler’s record. On Thursday, he secured a place at the World Darts Championship, which is scheduled to begin in December at Alexandra Palace. Raymond van Barneveld was reported to have praised Self.
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Niels Zonneveld won the Dutch Darts Championship, the final PDC European Tour event of the season, in Maastricht. He beat fellow Dutchman Danny Noppert 8-5 in the final after recovering from a 2-0 deficit. It was Zonneveld's first PDC European Tour title; he had beaten Stephen Bunting in the semi-finals, while Noppert had eliminated Gian van Veen. Van Veen had set a PDC European Tour record in the second round, defeating Poland's Sebastian Bialecki 6-0 with an average of 120.24, surpassing Dave Chisnall's 118.66 mark from 2018. Michael van Gerwen was eliminated in the second round by William O'Connor, and Dirk van Duijvenbode also lost in that round. Zonneveld's victory qualified him for the Grand Slam of Darts.
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Netflix’s Beat Luke Littler special is due to pit 24 amateur dart players against two-time world champion Luke Littler in a one-leg format. Any contestant who beats him can win £501,000, described in one report as about €586,000. The announced contestant group has drawn criticism over whether all participants can fairly be described as amateurs. The group includes an Australian jockey, an English refuse collector and a teenage darts player; reports differ on whether that player is 14 or 15 years old.
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Raymond van Barneveld's place at the upcoming World Championship is uncertain because he has fallen to 49th in the world ranking. He is currently 40th in the Pro Tour ranking, with two floor tournaments in Leicester still to play, and could lose direct qualification if he drops another place. Van Barneveld, who would be making his 34th World Championship appearance, said he remained confident and was focusing on staying positive despite the pressure. If he fails to qualify directly in Leicester, he plans to compete in another qualifying tournament in England. He said he would not retire again if he missed the event, but would remain active to defend his tour card next year.