Raymond van Barneveld won on his return to the World Darts Championship ©Getty Images

The Netherlands' five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld made a winning return to the World Darts Championship after coming out of retirement earlier this year.

Van Barneveld announced his retirement from the sport in December 2019 after losing in the first round of the World Championship.

However, the Dutch legend made his return to the sport earlier this season with the hopes of again competing at the Alexandra Palace in London, a dream he completed today.

Van Barneveld looked in imperious form, producing an average just shy of triple figures in a 3-0 win over Lourence Ilagan of the Philippines.

Number four seed James Wade is into the third round ©Getty Images
Number four seed James Wade is into the third round ©Getty Images

Earlier in the evening, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez of Austria emulated his brother to move into the second round with an impressive 3-1 win over Kiwi Ben Robb and Luke Woodhouse beat English compatriot James Wilson 3-1 to book his place in the second round.

The evening session concluded with world number four and fourth seed in the tournament James Wade of England getting his campaign off to a strong start in a second-round match against The Netherlands' Maik Kuivenhoven.

Wade squeezed past Kuivenhoven in a 3-1 win, despite a rather uninspiring performance.

Competition continues tomorrow with England's Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall in action.