It was, in the words of Michael van Gerwen, no better than “OK”. And of course when you are the three-time world title winner and one of the greats of the sport you pitch your standards higher than most. Even so there was a vaguely stirring quality to this second-round demolition of Keane Barry, a 3-0 victory secured with just two legs dropped.
It’s hard to put your finger on what exactly. The roars and the fist-pumps were a little more bullish than usual, the gaze a little more focused. There was a sublime 167 checkout that was basically an act of pure will, eliciting an explosion of noise from the Ally Pally crowd and completely reversing the course of a set that the Irishman was threatening to nick.
