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Ten years ago, the PDC revealed a new contender named Raymond van Barneveld would join the Premier League Darts ranks. The Dutchman, backed by his Barney Army, has become one of the sports most loved characters and his match on Thursday against Robert Thornton will mark his decade anniversary in the Premier League.Sky Sports have looked back over 10 years of highs and lows... Stamping his authorityEntering the PDC as a four-time BDO world champion, Van Barneveld immediately showed that he meant business by adapting to the Premier League like a duck to water. Ronnie Baxter was his first victim as the 39-year-old Barney thrashed him 8-1 in Blackburn. Which brave challenger would step up to face the new kid on the block next? Raymond Van Barneveld was one of the BDOs top talents when he crossed over You guessed it, Sky Sports very own Wayne Mardle took on Van Barneveld in the Dutchmans second week as a PDC player. Wayne wont mind us reminding you that Barney ran out an 8-4 winner in Sunderland. Roland Scholten (remember him?), Peter Manley and Colin Lloyd were the next names to fall to Van Barneveld before, in the Dutchmans eighth Premier League match, he finally tasted defeat to Phil Taylor. It was the second chapter, after they drew their first match, in a remarkable Premier League rivalry. Mardles crystal ball Will Van Barneveld win this week? Rivalry with TaylorVan Barneveld undoubtedly would have won considerably more had his career not run parallel with Taylors, and the veteran pair have spent the last decade flinging high-pressure arrows to captivate the Premier League audience. Taylor, overall, has enjoyed the lions share of this rivalry. Barney defeated Phil Taylor two weeks ago in the Premier League But that in itself is what makes Barney such an adored part of Premier League history. To this day, he has the feel of an underdog even though he won his most recent meeting with Taylor a fortnight ago. Van Barneveld, however, needed 21 attempts to finally get a Premier League victory over his rival, although they have shared fireworks at the oche.His maiden victory was in the 2014 semi-final and propelled him to his only title but another memorable contest came a year later. Barney, enduring a disappointing run of one win in six, got the better of Taylor in a back-and-forth duel which saw The Power average 115.80 but still emerge as a loser. That 7-4 win ranks as one of the tournaments greatest ever games.The nine-darters The first Premier League nine-darter was scored by Barney against Peter Manley Van Barneveld required just five Premier League matches to hit the competitions first nine-dart finish. He achieved the perfect leg against Manley in Bournemouth 10 years ago, a rare feat that underlined his early promise to become one of the sports elite players. Barney hits his second Premier League nine-darter against Terry Jenkins He needed another four years before he could post another nine-darter in the Premier League. Although he managed it in 2009 at the World Darts Championship, his next perfect leg in the Premier League came a year later against Terry Jenkins in Aberdeen. Surely theres no better way of marking his decade with the PDC than with another nine-dart finish?New talent from the NetherlandsThe orange-clad country that is mad about darts has produced plenty of excellent throwers but the emergence of a young Michael van Gerwen has kept Van Barneveld on his toes.Their first four meetings were at lower-level events but a 16-year-old Van Gerwen won three and lost just once. A stark message had been sent about the balance of power at the oche. They wouldnt meet in the Premier League until 2013, and Van Gerwen won both meetings, meaning the 2014 final had particular significance. Michael van Gerwen (right) has threatened Barneys status as the top Dutch player The younger Dutchman was the reigning champion so it took all of Barneys might to finally record a title-winning victory - it was their third Premier League meeting of that year and they had shared the first two results.More recently, they met at last years play-offs at The O2 and Van Gerwen was back to winning form to eliminate Van Barneveld. The rivalry will continue on March 31 on the final date of this years initial league phase. Whos playing Thursday? Full details of the fixtures The championVan Barneveld finally went the whole way and lifted the Premier League Darts crown in 2014. It was the perfect addition to his jam-packed trophy cabinet although the sole prize perhaps does not do Barneys brilliance justice. When his moment in the spotlight arrived, he grasped it in spectacular fashion with a 10-6 win over the magnificent Van Gerwen in the final.Barney had only entered the 2014 competition as a Sky Sports Wild Card after a below-par run of form. He stormed to the runners-up position in the league phase having beaten Van Gerwen along the way, although his younger compatriot pipped him to the No 1 spot. Two years ago Raymond van Barneveld won the Premier League title The play-off phase presented Van Barneveld with a task as challenging as it could possibly have been. But he toppled Taylor in the last four, his first ever Premier League win against The Power, before going a step further and edging Van Gerwen to claim the championship. He ended a glorious Premier League season with a terrific checkout percentage of 50.22.Watch Premier League Darts from Dublin on Thursday at 7pm on Sky Sports 1 HD. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. Also See: Thursday at the darts Mardles PL predictions Studd praises Jackpot Throwback Thursday Custom New York Mets Jerseys . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Fake Mets Jerseys . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/ . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. New York Mets Gear . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Stitched Mets Jerseys . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Joey Logano has won the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.Its Loganos third pole in 16 Cup races at MIS, and the previous two times he won the pole, he also went on to win the race. That includes his victory at Michigan in June.In fact, three of the last four race winners at Michigan also took the pole -- Logano this year, Matt Kenseth last August and Jeff Gordon in August of 2014.Obviously starting up front here is an advantage for sure when you talk about track position and safety on restarts, being how crazy it is with the low-downforce package on restarts, Logano said. Having the first pit stall is probably the most important of all that.Logano won Friday with a lap of 201.698 mph in his No. 22 Ford. Jimmie Johnson was second in qualifying for Sundays race, followed by Denny Hamlin.Logano has won 17 poles in his Cup career and three in 2016.Johnson won twice early this season but has only two top-10 finishes in his last 10 races, so his strong showing in qualifying was encouraging.All signs are pointing toward progress being made and Im very excited about that. I just want to thank everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for their long hours and all the time theyre putting in to get a little better in all areas, Johnson said. Its not juust one thing.dddddddddddd We have to look at everything globally and everybody in all departments is finding a way to bring a little bit more, and its showing up. I think all four Hendrick cars showed a lot of speed today.Alex Bowman will start a career-best sixth after posting the best non-restrictor-plate qualifying effort for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 car this year. Bowman is substituting this weekend for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will miss his sixth consecutive race while being treated for a concussion.Bowman, who was left without a full-time ride when Tommy Baldwin Racing made a driver change in mid-January, started 20th and finished 26th at New Hampshire last month in substituting for Earnhardt before four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon filled in the next four races.I hope it opens some eyes, Bowman said. Ive sat on the couch most of the year. This is my seventh time racing this year. ... Its been a rough year -- obviously not what I expected or where I wanted to be -- but everything happens for a reason and maybe the reason was for me to be here and get into this thing.ESPN staff writer Bob Pockrass and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '