James Wade took advantage of some poor finishing by Paul Nicholson to beat the Australian 5-3 and book his place in the semi-finals of the Ladbrokes.com World Championship.

Wade strode into a two-set lead after Nicholson failed to take advantage of the one dart he had to win the first set and the five he had to win the second.

Nicholson pulled a set back with a 3-1 win in the third but his nerves got the better of him in the fourth when he missed five set points and Wade took full advantage to give himself a 3-1 set lead.

Nicholson then shocked Wade by winning the next six games to level the scores at 3-3.

Wade hit two successive 180s on his way to securing the seventh set before he completed the victory in the eighth with a double two.