World Darts Championship: Luke Littler beats Ryan Joyce 4-3 in thrilling contest to reach quarter-finals

Luke Littler came through a thrilling contest against Ryan Joyce to reach the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship with a tense 4-3 win at Alexandra Palace.

The 17-year-old, who is trying to go one better than his remarkable runner-up finish on debut at the tournament last year, never trailed but was pushed to the limit by his unseeded opponent as he was repeatedly pegged back.

Having missed a chance to seal victory in the sixth set, Littler steadied himself to finally overcome Joyce’s resilience and take the decider 3-1.

Littler, who is the highest-seeded player left in the tournament after defending champion Luke Humphries’ surprise exit, will face 12th seed Nathan Aspinall in the last eight.

More to follow…

MVG ‘here to win’ after impressive win over De Graff

Michael van Gerwen kept alive his quest for a fourth world title by seeing off Jeffrey de Graaf 4-2.

Van Gerwen started superbly and looked to be cruising to victory after taking the first two sets, but De Graaf emerged from a break to mount an inspired comeback.

The unseeded Swede, who knocked out former champion Gary Anderson in round two, dominated the third set and snatched the fourth to level the match and put Van Gerwen under pressure.

The Dutchman produced a champion’s response, upping his level once more to take the fifth set 3-0 with an average of almost 105.

A match-high 126 checkout followed to take the opening leg of the sixth set, before Van Gerwen took advantage of a drop-off in De Graaf’s quality to break for a chance to seal the match.

He missed his first three match darts, before finally getting the job done on double three to secure an 11th career quarter-final appearance at the tournament.

“When I play well, I don’t panic. You saw I didn’t panic at all,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports Darts after ending the match with an average of 101.98.

“When I keep focus, when I keep believing in my own ability, anything is possible. I’m not here for the jolly, I’m here to win a tournament, and we all know that.”

Bunting batters Woodhouse to reach last eight

Stephen Bunting surged into the quarter-finals with a dominant 4-0 win over Luke Woodhouse in the opening game of the evening session.

The eighth seed flew out of the blocks after an electrifying walk-on to break Woodhouse twice in the opening set, sealing it to nil with a 121 checkout to send the crowd wild.

His average remained above 100 after he took the second set 3-1, and while his level dropped off slightly after that, a hapless Woodhouse never threatened to take a set, let alone the match.

Bunting’s opponent in the last eight will be two-time champion Peter Wright, after ‘Snakebite’ stunned defending champion Luke Humphries on Sunday.

“I expect the Peter Wright to turn up who was there yesterday against Luke,” Bunting told Sky Sports Darts. “I’m really looking forward to it, and like I said, in front of these fans we can win anything.”

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