Raymond van Barneveld crushes Rowby-John Rodriguez in first round at World Darts Championship

  • Raymond van Barneveld beats Rowby-John Rodriguez in first round
  • Dutchman dropped just two legs as he smashed his opponent
  • Barney hit three straight 12-darters and averaged 125.25 in the final set
  • Michael Smith beats Mensur Suljovic in high-quality contest

By Sunni Upal for MailOnline

Published: 19:22 EST, 22 December 2014 | Updated: 04:55 EST, 23 December 2014

Raymond van Barneveld produced one of the performances of the tournament so far as he blitzed Rowby-John Rodriguez in his first-round match at the World Darts Championship.

The five-time world champion averaged an astonishing 125.25 and hit three straight 12 darters in the final set of his 3-0 crushing of the young Austrian.

The Dutchman also hit three 180s and checkouts of 167 and 170 as he only dropped two legs at Alexandra Palace on Monday.

Raymond van Barneveld produced a strong showing as he eased into the second round at Alexandra Palace

Raymond van Barneveld produced a strong showing as he eased into the second round at Alexandra Palace

Barney dropped just two legs and checked out 167 and 170 on his way to victory

Barney dropped just two legs and checked out 167 and 170 on his way to victory

VIDEO Watch Barney's 170 checkout! 

Van Barneveld decided to ditch the glasses he had been trialing at previous event, and the move paid off.

He told Sky Sports: 'I tried to play in three tournaments in glasses and I never ever felt comfortable. The view is fantastic, it's like playing in HD, but tonight I've hit a 167 and 170 without glasses.

'I feel brilliant after that. You want to win before Christams, you want to go home happy and celebrate with your family and be happy, you don't want to lose and go home for Christmas after losing.

The Dutchman had been playing with glasses, but decided to take them off for this tournament

The Dutchman had been playing with glasses, but decided to take them off for this tournament

Van Barneveld makes his way to the stage for his first-round match at the World Darts Championship

Van Barneveld makes his way to the stage for his first-round match at the World Darts Championship

VIDEO Stunning start from van Barneveld 

'I fly back home tomorrow and have a day off but will be back practising soon, because this is the big one that we all want to win so there's no time to rest. I've changed back to some older darts, these are the same darts as the Premier League and World Cup, I tried a new set during the summer but after those finishes I'll stick with these.'

Also on Monday night, Phil Taylor's conqueror last year Michael Smith hit nine 180s to see off Mensur Suljovic in a high-quality match that saw both players average just shy of 100.

Michael Smith beat Mensur Suljovic in a high-quality match which saw both players average just shy of 100

Michael Smith beat Mensur Suljovic in a high-quality match which saw both players average just shy of 100

The night started with a challenge between England cricketers Jimmy Anderson (left) and Alastair Cook

The night started with a challenge between England cricketers Jimmy Anderson (left) and Alastair Cook

All four sets went down to a deciding leg, but it was Smith who held his nerve to win three of them and take his place in the second round, even though his three-dart average of 97.47 was slightly less than his opponent's 98.91.

In the first match of the evening, Jamie Caven held off Jason Hogg for a 3-2 win while Brendan Dolan rounded off Monday's action with a 3-0 win over Nolan Arandse without dropping a single leg.

VIDEO Cricket meets darts: Cook vs Anderson

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