At Minehead, Luke Littler crushed Damon Heta 10-3 to get the British Open defense back on track, while Michael van Gerwen defeated Nathan Aspinall in the fourth round.
Littler headed to the coast in the wake of the Premier League win at Cardiff and looked to be in charge right away and staying fit.
Heta struggled to find a rhythm and was overthinking his throws. In the fifth leg, Littler won 4-1 with a 136 checkout (Bull, Bull, D16) and seven perfect darts.
The world number one and defending British Open champion spun to six legs, then reeled in an audacious big fish finish to make it 7-2 and then a delightful 108 checkout at the top to make it 8-2.
Heta managed to get one more foot on the board, but it was too little, too late, as Littler waited for his moment and somehow took 120 (T20, D20, D10) to close out the contest and secure a spot in the next round against Kevin Dautts.
Van Gerwen started his bid for a fourth British Open title by winning a 10-8 battle with Nathan Aspinall.
Both players got off to a great start, with two 11-dart legs and one 10-dart leg in between, averaging over 107 to give Aspinall a slight lead at 3-2.
A spell from the “Green Machine” left him with four legs rattled on the bounce to lead 6-4, but Aspinall could see the form his opponent had found, so he opted to practice during the break.
At 9-6, it looked like the “Green Machine” was going to cruise to victory, but Aspinall fought back to bring the match to 9-8.
However, the Dutch player held his own and took down D8, earning a decisive victory.
Luke Humphries advanced with a relentless 10-3 victory over two-time British Open finalist Luke Woodhouse.
Humphries got off to an incredibly strong start, scoring four consecutive legs to take an early 4-1 advantage, then spun three more legs with a 144 checkout and a 118 checkout, plus a slow break to build a commanding 7-3 lead.
Three more checkouts of 2 tons or more in a row followed, with a sensational 116 clinching the deal.
Rob Cross put on a vintage ‘voltage’ performance to beat Dutch No.1 favorite Jan van Veen 10-7.
Cross, who averaged more than 101 and had the highest score of eight, finished brilliantly, nullifying Van Veen’s momentum with a checkout of more than three tons.
Midway through the contest, Cross thought he had pulled away as he found a break on his throw and a 121 checkout, picking up four of five legs to take a 5-3 lead. But Van Veen then found his own spurt with the biggest hit to tie the score at 5-5.
Cross then fired again, breaking with a 112 checkout and spinning three legs to take an 8-6 lead and finish the match with favorite D16.
Knoppert discovers nine-dart perfection as big names battle it out
Among the other boards, the standout moment was Danny Knoppert’s 10-4 win over Dimitri van den Bergh with nine darters.
He will face Peter Wright, who won 10-6 in an all-Scottish battle with Cameron Menzies.
Gerwyn Price also advanced with a 10-3 win over Greg Ritchie and is looking forward to a mouth-watering matchup with Wessel Nyman.
Meanwhile, ‘Flying Scotsman’ Gary Anderson impressed with a 10-6 win over Dirk van Duijvenbode, but will now face Martin Schindler. Stephen Bunting, Johnny Clayton, Josh Locke and James Wade have also progressed as well.
2026 Ladbrokes UK Open: Schedule
Round 5:
Ross Smith vs Darryl Gurney Mensur Suljovic vs Stephen Bunting Kevin Duetz vs Luke Littler Gary Anderson vs Martin Schindler Josh Locke vs Dominic Grulich Daryl Pilgrim vs Johnny Clayton Peter Wright vs Danny Knoppert Kai Gotthardt vs Michael van Gerwen Ryan Joyce vs Keane Barry Martin Lukeman vs Madarth Razma Gabriel Clemens vs James Wade Ryan Searle vs Michael Smith Oscar Lukasiak vs Krzysztof Ratajski Luke Humphries vs Dave Chisnall Wessel Nyman vs Gerwyn Price Mike Dekker vs Rob Cross
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