Luke Littler fought off 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, trying to better a result than his second-place finish in his tournament debut last year, never trailed but was pushed to the limits by his unseeded rival as he was repeatedly pegged.
After squandering a chance to take the win in the sixth set, Littler held his ground, eventually overcoming Joyce's resilience and winning the decider 3-1.
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Ryan Joyce won the second set to level the match as he looked to put pressure on Luke Littler
Littler, the highest seeded player in the tournament after the shock exit of defending champion Luke Humphries, will face 12th seed Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals.
More to follow…
MVG is 'here to win' after impressive win over De Graaf
Michael van Gerwen maintained his quest for a fourth world title by defeating Geoffrey de Graaf 4-2.
Van Gerwen started brightly and looked to be on his way to victory after winning the first two sets, but De Graaf came out of the break to stage an inspired comeback.
The unseeded Swede, who knocked out former champion Gary Anderson in the second round, dominated the third set and took the fourth to equalize and put Van Gerwen under pressure.
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Michael Gerwin fired off with passion after defeating Geoffrey de Graaf 4-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the 2025 World Darts Championship.
The Dutchman produced the champion's response, raising his game again to win the fifth set 3-0 with an average of almost 105.
He followed up with a match-high 126 to take the first game of the sixth set, before Van Gerwen took advantage of de Graaf's declining quality to break serve for a match point.
He missed the first three darts, before finally getting the job done on the three-putt to secure an 11th quarter-final appearance at the tournament.
“When I play well I don't panic. As 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 stay focused, when I keep believing in myself, anything becomes possible. I'm not here for fun, I'm here to win the championship, and we all know that.”
Banners beat Woodhouse to reach the quarter-finals
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Stephen Ponting took the first set as he won all three matches against Luke Woodhouse and clinched the final leg with an impressive 121 finish
Stephen Ponting advanced to the quarter-finals with a dominant 4-0 win over Luke Woodhouse in the opening match of the evening tournament.
The eighth seed exited the group after an exciting round, breaking Woodhouse's serve twice in the first set and deciding the result by 121 points, exciting the crowd.
His average remained above 100 after he won the second set 3-1, and while his form dipped slightly after that, the hapless Woodhouse never threatened to take the set, let alone the match.
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Stephen Ponting says he would love to display the 2025 World Darts Championship trophy around Anfield… especially as the current league leaders take on Manchester United in their next match – live on Sky Sports!
Ponting's opponent in the quarter-finals will be two-time champion Peter Wright, after 'Snakebite' stunned defending champion Luke Humphries on Sunday.
“I expect Peter Wright who was there yesterday against Luke will be there,” Ponting told Sky Sports Darts. He added: “I'm really looking forward to it, and like I said, in front of these fans we can win anything.”
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