Luke Littler advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship in a thrilling contest with Ryan Joyce with a tense 4-3 win at Alexandra Palace.
The 17-year-old, who is looking to go one better than his remarkable runner-up debut at the tournament last year, never trailed but pushed his inexhaustible opponent to the limit as he was pushed back several times.
Missing a chance to seal victory in the sixth set, Littler doggedly overcame Joyce’s resilience to take the decider 3-1.
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Ryan Joyce won the second set to level the match as he looked to pressure Luke Littler
Littler, who is the highest-ranked player remaining in the tournament following the surprise exit of reigning champion Luke Humphreys, will face 12th seed Nathan Aspinall in the last eight.
More to follow…
MVG are ‘to win here’ after their impressive win over De Graaf
Michael van Gerwen continued his quest for a fourth world title with a 4-2 win over Jeffrey de Graaf.
Van Gerwen got off to a great start and looked to be cruising to victory after taking the first two sets, but De Graaf came out of the break and made an inspired comeback.
The unbeaten Swede, who knocked out former champion Gary Anderson in the second round, dominated the third set and took the fourth to level the match and put Van Gerwen under pressure.
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Michael Gervain roared with passion after he beat Geoffrey de Graaf 4-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the 2025 World Darts Championship.
The Dutchman produced a champion response, raising his level once again to take the fifth set 3-0, averaging nearly 105.
The opening round of the sixth set ended at 126 before Van Gerwen took advantage of De Graaf’s drop in quality to seal the match.
He missed the darts in his first three matches before finally finishing the job in a triple-double to secure his 11th career quarter-final appearance at the tournament.
“When I’m playing well, I don’t panic. You saw I didn’t panic at all,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports Darts after finishing the match with an average of 101.98. :
“When I’m focused, when I keep believing in my abilities, anything is possible. I’m not here for joy, I’m here to win the tournament, and we all know that.”
Bunting hits Wodehouse for the last eight
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Stephen Bunting took the first set as he won all three legs against Luke Woodhouse to reach the final with an impressive 121.
Stephen Bunting reached the quarter-finals with a 4-0 win over Luke Woodhouse in the opening match of the evening session.
The eighth seed flew out of the blocks after an electric walk, breaking Wodehouse twice in the opening set to close it to nil with 121 cashes to send the crowd wild.
His average stayed above 100 after he took the second set 3-1, and although his level dropped slightly after that, the hapless Wodehouse never threatened to take a set, let alone a match.
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Stephen Bunting says he would love to parade the 2025 World Darts trophy at Anfield… especially as the current league leaders play Manchester United in their next game, live on Sky Sports.
Bunting’s opponent in the last eight will be two-time champion Peter Wright, after Snakebite stunned reigning champion Luke Humphreys on Sunday.
“I expect Peter Wright, who was there against Luke yesterday,” Bunting told Sky Sports Darts. “I’m really looking forward to it and like I said, with these fans in front of us, we can win anything.” :
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