World number one Luke Littler took on former world champion Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace, winning 4-2 to advance to the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship.
Littler put in another impressive performance as he seeks to become the first player since Gary Anderson to win back-to-back world titles, posting an incredible average of 106.58 points and a high of 17 points to advance to the final eight for the third year in a row.
Nuke bounced back from losing the first set of the tournament and won the next two sets to open up a 3-1 advantage, but Cross fought back by winning the next set with a stunning 126 finish at the bullseye.
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Rob Cross contributed to becoming world No. 1, but Luke Littler held firm and decided to advance to the quarter-finals.
As Littler won despite boos from the crowd and booked a place in the quarter-finals against either Luke Woodhouse or Krzysztof Ratajski, Cross missed a dart that would have been a hotly contested match.
“Let me just say this: You paid for the tickets, you paid for my winnings, so thank you for the money and thank you for the boos!” Littler said on stage after his win. “I don’t care! I really don’t care!”
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Luke Littler has harsh words for fans at Alexandra Palace after his win over Rob Cross
“It was hostile and no one wanted me to win. Once again I proved them wrong. I’m still out of reach (to defend my title). I have to go to the finals. I’ll enjoy my two days off and be back on New Year’s Day.”
Ryan Searle also advanced to the quarter-finals with a straight-sets win over James Harrell, while in the other match of the day, and at the end of the third round, Josh Lock fought back from a set down to defeat Callan Ryes 4-1.
Littler maintains his place in the quarterfinals
Littler had won the first three matches of this year’s tournament in straight sets and faced a similar threat in the opening match when he broke Cross on his way to victory, but ‘Voltage’ was unable to capitalize on the defending champion’s missed six darts with a double.
Cross hit a break throw 109 finish en route to winning the second set, tying the match, but could do little as Littler breezed through the third set with a straight leg average of 125.
Littler closed out the third set with a 128 checkout and took advantage of a cross mistake to take the fourth set, but the 2018 champion had the biggest finish of the match to take the fifth set and break the world No. 1 in the sixth set to take a 2-1 lead.
Cross was unable to make an 82 finish that could have tied the contest as Littler held the lead for 10 darts and clinched the win with a 68, breaking this year’s record for the longest time in a match.
The numbers behind Luke Littler’s 4-2 victory over Rob Cross
“I just had to hold and then Rob (Cross) broke me and I had to break him back,” Littler added. “At that time I just looked at the stats and didn’t think anything of it. I just wanted to win the game.”
Searle defeats Harrell to advance to the final eight
‘Heavy Metal’ Searle continued his record of not dropping a set at this year’s World Darts Championship, defeating Harrell in another dominant match to book his first quarter-final spot.
Searle took the lead in the decider of the final leg, with Harrell missing a set dart at the top, but Searle hit a 109 checkout en route to the second set in straight legs.
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Ryan Searle beats James Harrell 4-0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship
Searle only dropped two more legs en route to winning the final two sets heading into the quarter-finals against Johnny Clayton, while Andreas Harrison has only dropped 11 legs in his first four matches.
“Honestly, I thought it was no good!” Searle told Sky Sports. “(Averaging) 100 points is amazing. I don’t really know what happened then. I just threw a few darts and managed to win. I’m going to accept this and take a few days off now.”
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James Harrell was caught by Auch during his match against Ryan Searle at Alexandra Palace
Rockfire passes through emotional Rydz
After Rock defeated the British fighter to reach the fourth round for the first time since 2023, he paid tribute to Liz’s grandfather, who passed away a few days before the match.
Liz became visibly emotional and looked up at the sky several times during the entertaining contest, and after winning the first set, both players landed perfect legs with seven darts in the second set.
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Josh Locke and Callan Riz both attempted nine darters in consecutive legs in the second set of their last-16 clash
Rock produced an 11-dart break and Liz won the next dart for 10 to win the final leg decider and tie the contest, winning each of the next three sets and setting up a last-of-16 match with Justin Hood.
“I was a man on a mission and I want to say I’m sorry to Curran and his family for the loss of their grandfather,” Lock told Sky Sports. “I’m here to do a job and I’ve done my job, but I want to send my condolences to the Rydz family.
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Josh Lock shares his hopes for his first world title challenge and pays tribute to Callan Riz’s grandfather after his fourth-round victory
“I think I had to go a set down to pick it up. I’m not here to put up numbers, I’m here to win a title. If I keep playing what I know I can do, I can win a title.”
In the afternoon session, Nathan Aspinall was eliminated in the final set by Kevin Duetz, Charlie Manby beat Ricky Evans 4-2 to reach the fourth round, and Justin Hood also advanced with a 4-1 win over Ryan Meikle.
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Nathan Aspinall stunned by Kevin Deutz’s ‘unbelievable’ 164 checkout during last-16 exit
What’s next?
The remaining six fourth-round matches will take place on Tuesday, with Michael van Gerwen taking on Gary Anderson in the much-anticipated match, before world number two Luke Humphries headlines an evening session with Kevin Deutz.
The other matches of the night will see Charlie Manby take on Jan van Veen, while the afternoon session will see Luke Woodhouse take on Krzysztof Ratajski, Johnny Clayton take on Andreas Harrison and Justin Hood take on Josh Locke.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407) until January 3rd. Stream darts and other top sports now.
