PDC World Darts Championship 2025 results: Luke Littler beats Ian White to reach fourth round

Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen is also through to round four after a 4-2 win over 30th seed Brendan Dolan.

Northern Ireland’s Dolan won the opening set on throw, before Dutchman Van Gerwen claimed the second.

That started a run of eight legs on the spin to put the third seed 3-1 up.

He was in scintillating form in the fourth set, averaging 118.66, but that dropped to just 84 in the fifth set won by Dolan.

Van Gerwen threw some wayward darts in the next set and was again guilty of missing doubles, before he sealed the win.

The game summed up Van Gerwen’s year – sublime moments but also lapses that would likely be punished by the very best as the tournament progresses.

He will face Sweden’s Jeffrey de Graaf or Paolo Nebrida from the Philippines, who are both unseeded, in round four.

“It was tough, it was really hard and a really difficult game,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports.

“Everybody can see he never gives up and you have to try and punish him at the right moments, and I wasn’t capable of doing it.

“There is a lot of work still to do and I know I’m capable of doing it. I’m looking forward to the next round and let it roll on.”

The opening game of the evening saw 15th seed Chris Dobey beat 18th seed Josh Rock 4-2.

Northern Ireland’s Rock led 1-0 and 2-1 before Dobey improved and got into his groove as the match progressed.

He won the fourth set 3-0, before Rock missed set darts on double tops in the fifth.

Dobey then won the sixth set with a double-double finish, to set up a fourth-round tie against the Netherlands’ Kevin Doets or Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski.

Many had predicted a close match with just £250 splitting the pair in the PDC’s Order of Merit and it played out like that, but Dobey’s consistent scoring – he averaged 97.29 – and a checkout percentage of 45.2 saw him through.

The afternoon session saw Joyce shock 20th seed Ryan Searle, while Ricardo Pietreczko and 12th seed Nathan Aspinall also progressed.