Richie Burnett of Wales won the Embassy World Darts championship at his first attempt by beating Raymond Barneveld, the first Dutch player to reach the finals, 6-3 in the final at Frimley Green, Surrey, last night.
Barneveld, a 27-year-old postman from The Hague, won the opening set before dropping to 1-3 down.
He pulled back courageously to 3-3, but Burnett, moving up a gear, took the next three sets for victory.
"I started nervously," the 27-year-old Burnett admitted. "I just got on with the job. Raymond made some marvellous finishes, but I just had to keep going whatever happened."
Barneveld, who beat the England captain, Martin Adams, in the semi-finals on Saturday, said of his second-seeded opponent: "Richie was just too good. He does not miss many doubles. But I'll be back."
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