World Darts Championship: Nathan Aspinall cruises past Andrew Gilding and into last 16 as Ryan Joyce also progresses

Nathan Aspinall cruised to a 4-0 victory over Andrew Gilding to power himself into the last 16 in the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

It is the first time in five years that Aspinall has made it through to the third round and he will now face Ricardo Pietreczko in the final 16.

It was not the best of starts from either player in the final contest of the afternoon session on day 11 but Aspinall was the one who pounced, two breaks of throw clinching him a scrappy first set.

The second set followed in the same vein as the first, Aspinall up to 86 per cent on the doubles as he took his chances in the moments that mattered. A crucial break of throw in the deciding leg of the third set then cemented ‘The Asp’s’ 3-0 lead.

With the finish line in sight and knowing he needed to just hold his throw, Aspinall held his throw twice then broke ‘Goldfinger’, wrapping up a comprehensive win on tops.

“I’m glad I could finish. Normally I’m really bad at finishing, that’s normally why I lose. Normally my scoring’s not there. The last two games I’ve played, I’ve finished really well, not scored great,” Aspinall told Sky Sports following his win.

“Gildy didn’t play very well there. I don’t care about averages, I don’t care about numbers. I’m in the last 16 – England vs Germany.

“I think the last six months have been very flat when I’ve been playing, and I made a conscious effort tonight to try to get that fire lit in my stomach again, and I think you’ve seen it from the off.

“I was giving it a bit more emotion tonight and that was for myself, to try to get the adrenaline going because I’ve been very flat.

“It wasn’t my best performance. I finished fantastic again, but we’ve got to get the scoring going with that finishing, I’ll be tough to beat.”

In the opening match of the afternoon session, Ryan Joyce put in a sensational performance on the doubles to make it through to the fourth round after a thrilling 4-3 tie-break win over Ryan Searle.

The game went with throw for the first nine legs, allowing Joyce to pick up the first set on his throw and ‘Relentless’ then pounced in the decider of the second to break the throw and take a 2-0 lead.

However, Searle battled back and found two breaks of throw of his own to bring the contest level at 2-2, his doubling clinical at 50 per cent and a 114.24 average in the third set bringing him back into the clash.

Joyce came back at him though, winning five legs in a row, and with the match level at 3-3, a sensational 113 checkout in the tie-break of the seventh set gave the Geordie the advantage, pinning his favourite D18 for the match.

Pietreczko showed his class as he secured a 4-1 victory over Scott Williams to make the last 16 for the first time in his career.

The atmosphere was electric inside Ally Pally for this clash, the German contingent of the crowd backing their last remaining contender as the English fans got behind Williams.

It was Pietreczko who got on top early and held his throw for a 1-0 led before breaking Williams on tops to go 2-0 up, ‘Shaggy’ hitting back in the third set to race ahead and clinch it 3-1 to bring the contest to 2-1.

The 2024 semi-finalist had brought himself into the match, but Pietreczko took over set four, breaking the throw and then pinning 129 on the bullseye to whitewash the set and go one away from victory.

He then continued in the same fashion and wrapped up the win in brilliant style, taking out the bullseye, T13, and D16 for 121 and the victory.

What’s next?

The evening session on Saturday December 28 is live from 7pm on Sky Sports with Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Chris Dobey, and Josh Rock all in action.

Then, Sunday December 29 at Alexander Palace is another packed double session, live on Sky Sports.

The evening is headlined by Luke Humphries vs Peter Wright, with Jonny Clayton up against Gerwyn Price and Ricky Evans vs Robert Owen. You can watch those matches live from 7pm.

In the afternoon from 12.30pm, there is also Jeffrey de Graaf vs Paolo Nebrida, Kevin Doets vs Krzysztof Ratajski, and Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Callan Rydz.

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.