Luke Littler continues fairy-tale debut run as Smith and Van Gerwen surge into Last 16

Luke Littler continued his historic run at the PDC World Championship with a dominant win over Matt Campbell, while Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen also advanced to the Last 16.

Following a three-day Christmas break, the sport’s showpiece event resumed in style at Alexandra Palace, with Littler extending his fairy-tale run with a 4-1 rout of Campbell.

The 16-year-old swept through the opening set in a matter of minutes, before reeling off legs of 14, 12 and 14 darts to double his lead – featuring a magnificent 130 checkout midway through set two.

Littler then punished key misses from Campbell in the latter stages of set three to move to the cusp of glory, only for the Canadian to open his account with a clinical 120 combination in a fourth set decider.

However, the World Youth Champion responded with a sublime 164 checkout to kick off set five, which he followed up with a brilliant 11-darter on his way to another landmark victory.

“It’s unbelievable,” admitted Littler, who averaged 97, landed eight 180s and converted three ton-plus finishes to move through to a meeting with either Jim Williams or Raymond van Barneveld.

“Overall, it was a good performance. It wasn’t quite as good as the first round, but I don’t care if I win with the lowest average of the tournament, as long as I get the result.

“I’ve got nothing to lose now, because I’ve already overachieved. Jim is playing well, but it would be unbelievable to play against Raymond on that stage.”

Smith, who is aiming to become only the fourth player in World Championship history to win back-to-back titles, recovered from a sluggish start to see off Latvia’s Madars Razma 4-1.

Razma silenced the partisan crowd after producing a timely 14-darter to draw first blood in the deciding leg of the first set after Smith had taken out 130 on the bullseye.

Smith, though, secured six of the next eight legs to seize control of the tie and lead by two sets to one.

The Latvian then spurned two darts at double to restore parity in a pivotal fourth set, and Smith capitalised in powering to victory, following up 75 and 80 finishes by crashing in six perfect darts in a stunning final leg.

“I managed to battle hard there and get the win in the end,” said Smith. “I’m not happy with the performance, but I’m happy to be in the next round, and hopefully I can find my A-game for the rest of the tournament.

“I watched him and timed him in the practice room. He tried to think about putting me off, I guess, but lessons learned.

“I wanted to put on a really good performance and I think I tried too hard, but I’m looking forward to playing Ross Smith or Chris Dobey, because I know it will be a high-scoring game.”

Van Gerwen, meanwhile, stepped up his pursuit of a fourth world title with a 4-0 whitewash of Dutch compatriot Richard Veenstra in a contest which lasted less than 27 minutes.

Van Gerwen struck the first blow but sealing the first set 3-1, before crashing in back-to-back 11-darters to wrap up a stunning second set, in which he averaged 116.

Veenstra rallied briefly to force a deciding leg in set three, but after registering a 13-darter to stretch his lead to 3-0, an unflappable Van Gerwen capped off a dominant display with a majestic 130 finish.

“I felt comfortable, and I did what I had to do,” reflected Van Gerwen, who averaged 101 and pinned 57 per cent of his attempts at doubles.

“I was focused. I was sharp, and the will to win was there. You have to put your opponents under pressure, and that is what I did tonight.

“I don’t care who I play. Whoever comes in your path, you’re not allowed to make any mistakes – I just have to smash them.”

Earlier in the day, Rob Cross progressed to the Last 16 with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over a spirited Jeffery de Graff, averaging 101 and landing ten 180s in the process.

Cross won six of the first eight legs to establish a two-set buffer, and while De Graaf reduced the arrears to 3-2, the 2018 champion averaged 113 in a sensational sixth set, to move through to the Last 16 for a third year in a row.

Scott Williams defied 13 maximums from Martin Schindler to prevail in a seven-set epic, recovering from 2-0 and 3-2 down to reach round four for the first time in his career.

Despite a sluggish start, Williams landed 152 and 146 checkouts to level at 2-2, only for the diminutive German to regain his advantage with a spectacular 161 checkout to round off set five.

However, after restoring parity at three sets apiece, Williams followed up a brace of 90 checkouts with a 13-dart break to come through a thrilling tie-break.

Schindler’s World Cup partner Gabriel Clemens also crashed out on an eventful afternoon in the capital, succumbing 4-1 to 2021 semi-finalist Dave Chisnall.

Chisnall won nine out of ten legs in the opening exchanges to establish a commanding lead 3-0, punishing 22 missed darts at double from last year’s semi-finalist to keep his title hopes alive.

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World Darts Championship 2023/24 Day Ten Results

Wednesday December 27

Third Round

Afternoon Session
Scott Williams 4-3 Martin Schindler
Dave Chisnall 4-1 Gabriel Clemens
Rob Cross 4-2 Jeffrey de Graaf

Evening Session
Matt Campbell 1-4 Luke Littler
Michael van Gerwen 4-0 Richard Veenstra
Michael Smith 4-1 Madars Razma