Luke Littler continued his magnificent Betfred World Matchplay campaign with a sparkling 16-7 victory over Josh Rock to progress into the semi-finals on Thursday.
Littler produced his third consecutive average north of 109 to breeze into the last four, hammering in 17 maximums and defying a 101.24 average from Rock to emphatically maintain his title defence.
Although the Northern Irish number one kept the contest at 5-5 in the opening stages, the World Champion burst away, rattling off seven legs straight to give himself daylight with a 12-5 lead.
After a fourth ton-plus finish to lead 13-6, the world number one saw out the match 16-7 to lock in his semi-final spot, where he will face Dirk van Duijvenbode.
“That’s another brilliant game for myself,” assessed Littler, who finished the match with a 109.57 average and 53% doubles success rate.
“I’ve gone 109, 113, 109 [for averages] again, so I’ve just got to keep it going, but fair play to Josh, he gave me a really good game there.
“At the minute, I feel very good. Everything is going to plan. I can afford to miss a few doubles because the scoring is there.
“As long as I’m playing well, I think I’ll give it a really good go. Next game we will try and get better than a 109 average.
“I think I’ve got to get ahead of Dirk early on. I’ve just got to get into that lead, put him under pressure and make him start chasing.”
Van Duijvenbode survived a spirited Gary Anderson fightback to progress to a maiden semi-final at the Winter Gardens, triumphing 16-13.
The Dutchman led from the early stages, rushing into a 4-1 lead courtesy of a 107 checkout, which progressed into an 8-4 advantage.
After a brief rally from the 2018 champion, Van Duijvenbode took six legs straight to lead 14-6, before taking out 86 on double seven to go one away from a historic win.
Anderson then threatened an astounding comeback, winning six consecutive legs to reduce the arrears to 15-13 which included a mesmerising 154 checkout, before Van Duijvenbode closed out the contest with a stellar 13-darter to down the Scot.
“This feeling is very nice! I’m very happy,” stated Van Duijvenbode, who averaged north of 101 in victory.
“Gary never gives up. I’ve never seen him giving up, and when he’s hitting his trebles, he is one of the very best in the world.
“At some point I felt nerves in my stomach, and my boy [his son] always says he has a pain in his stomach when I go away to tournaments, because he doesn’t want me to go away.
“I felt that pain in my stomach, so when I was playing really well before the last session, I thought: 'I have this stomach pain, he has this stomach pain when I leave, so I can’t let him down now.’”
World Matchplay Darts: Draw Bracket
ROUND ONE
- (1) Luke Littler 10-6 Niko Springer
- (16) Nathan Aspinall 10-5 Joe Cullen
- (8) Josh Rock 10-4 Luke Woodhouse
- (9) Stephen Bunting 13-12 Niels Zonneveld
- (4) Michael van Gerwen 10-6 Andrew Gilding
- (13) Chris Dobey 11-13 Dirk van Duijvenbode
- (5) Jonny Clayton 10-7 Damon Heta
- (12) Gary Anderson 10-2 Ryan Joyce
- (2) Luke Humphries 7-10 Cameron Menzies
- (15) Ross Smith 10-6 Kevin Doets
- (7) Gerwyn Price 11-9 Martin Schindler
- (10) Danny Noppert 3-10 Rob Cross
- (3) Gian van Veen 10-6 Krzysztof Ratajski
- (14) Wessel Nijman 10-5 Dave Chisnall
- (6) James Wade 10-7 Jermaine Wattimena
- (11) Ryan Searle 10-6 William O’Connor
ROUND TWO
- (1) Luke Littler 11-8 Nathan Aspinall (16)
- (8) Josh Rock 11-6 Stephen Bunting (9)
- (4) Michael van Gerwen 12-14 Dirk van Duijvenbode
- (5) Jonny Clayton 7-11 Gary Anderson (12)
- Cameron Menzies v W/O Ross Smith (15) (Cameron Menzies withdrew due to illness)
- (7) Gerwyn Price 11-5 Rob Cross
- (3) Gian van Veen 14-12 Wessel Nijman (14)
- (6) James Wade 11-8 Ryan Searle (11)
QUARTER-FINALS
- (1) Luke Littler 16-7 Josh Rock (8)
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 16-13 Gary Anderson (12)
- (15) Ross Smith v Gerwyn Price (7)
- (3) Gian van Veen v James Wade (6)
World Matchplay Darts: Daily Schedule
- Click here for Sky Bet odds
- * Each game must be won by two clear legs, with up to a maximum of five additional legs being played before the sixth additional leg is sudden-death
Saturday July 18 (1900 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Josh Rock 10-4 Luke Woodhouse
- Stephen Bunting 13-12 Niels Zonneveld
- Luke Littler 10-6 Niko Springer
- Nathan Aspinall 10-5 Joe Cullen
Sunday July 19
Morning Session (1300 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 13-11 Chris Dobey
- Gary Anderson 10-2 Ryan Joyce
- Michael van Gerwen 10-6 Andrew Gilding
- Jonny Clayton 10-7 Damon Heta
Evening Session (1900 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Ryan Searle 10-6 William O’Connor
- James Wade 10-7 Jermaine Wattimena
- Gian van Veen 10-6 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Wessel Nijman 10-5 Dave Chisnall
Monday July 20 (1900 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Ross Smith 10-6 Kevin Doets
- Gerwyn Price 11-9 Martin Schindler
- Cameron Menzies 10-7 Luke Humphries
- Rob Cross 10-3 Danny Noppert
Tuesday July 21 (1900 BST)
Second Round (best of 21 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Gary Anderson 11-7 Jonny Clayton
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 14-12 Michael van Gerwen
- Luke Littler 11-8 Nathan Aspinall
- Josh Rock 11-6 Stephen Bunting
Wednesday July 22 (1900 BST)T)
Second Round (best of 21 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Ross Smith w/o (Cameron Menzies withdrew due to illness)
- Gian van Veen 14-12 Wessel Nijman
- Gerwyn Price 11-5 Rob Cross
- James Wade 11-8 Ryan Searle
Thursday July 24 (1900 BST)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 31 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 16-13 Gary Anderson
- Luke Littler 16-7 Josh Rock
Friday July 24 (1900 BST)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 31 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Two matches
Saturday July 25 (1900 BST)
Semi-Finals (best of 33 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Winner QF 1 v Winner QF 2
- Winner QF 3 v Winner QF 4
Sunday July 26 (2030 BST)
Final (best of 35 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
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