Suffolk darts star Ryan Meikle claimed arguably the biggest win of his career with a victory over five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld yesterday.

The Rendlesham-based thrower knocked out the world number nine in the first round of Players Championship 7 in Barnsley yesterday afternoon.

Meikle, currently ranked 75th in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Order of Merit won the contest against van Barneveld 6-4, before bowing out to Kevin Painter 6-2 in the next round.

It was the first time that the 20-year-old has beaten a former world champion on the PDC tour, with the win coming just six days after he had lost to the same player in the last 16 of Players Championship 6, in Milton Keynes last weekend.

Meikle is back in action in Barnsley today as he competes in Players Championship 8, with the Suffolk thrower set to face another Dutchman, Ron Meulenkamp, in the first round.