Luke Littler defeated Mensur Suljovic 4-0 in the third round as Stephen Bunting was eliminated from the World Darts Championship by James Harrell.
Littler issued a warning to the rest of the field, losing just three legs on his way to averaging 107.09 points, the second-highest in the tournament behind Jan van Veen’s 108.28 points.
World No. 1 Littler showed why many think he will become the first fighter to defend his title since Gary Anderson 10 years ago and will face either Damon Heta or Rob Cross in the fourth round.
Littler told Sky Sports: “I’m very happy. The finish was good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 71 per cent (checkout rate) in my PDC career.”
“I’m happy with that. I felt very calm tonight. I matched Mensour’s pace and I found a rhythm that matched him. It was a little slower than usual, but it went well.”
“I felt like this was the best of any tournament this year, or last year, or the year before that. That’s the best I’ve settled for. It shows in my average, over-a-ton checkout finish.”
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Mensur Suljovic misses Luke Littler’s double shot, then adds on and steals the leg, sending the crowd into a frenzy!
Littler quickly adapted to Suljovic’s slow play that troubled Joe Cullen in the previous round, breaking his opponent twice and taking the first set with an impressive 11 darter.
That good form continued in the second set, when he averaged 108 and Suljovic wondered what he could do. The Austrian had his moment to rouse the crowd in the third, when his first dart was a double to beat Littler’s throw.
The next two legs were shared, so the set went to the deciding leg, which Littler won with a match-high 124 checkout. She maintained her dominance in the fourth set, finishing with 114, but has yet to drop a set at Alexandra Palace.
“Now that we’ve come full circle, we’ll be back in the next few days,” Littler said.
“It was a real honor to come here and play darts in my first year and get to the finals. Last year was different. This year I’m the reigning champion and No. 1 in the world, so the pressure is on. Tonight there was no pressure, no nerves. I’m happy with the result.”
Bunting is surprised by Harrell
Bunting, ranked No. 4 in the world, lost 4-3 to Harrell, becoming the highest seed to fall in this tournament.
Harrell was the much better player throughout the match and could have whitewashed Bunting had it not been for two spectacular checkouts, a 161 checkout and a 121 checkout in the decider at the end of the second and third sets.
Bunting, who appeared to be suffering from a cold, trailed 0-2 in the second set, but showed competitive qualities and took a 2-1 lead in the set.
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Stephen Bunting scores an impressive 161 to equalize with James Harrell
However, with Bunting’s score dropping, Harrell won five of the next six legs and quickly took the lead 3-2. He pitched into the match in the sixth set, but with a bad foot, Bunting took the match to a deciding set with 14 darters.
But Harrell broke Bunting’s throw in the second leg of the final set and held his own with another 14-darter call for a place in the last 16 against Germany’s Martin Schindler and England’s Ryan Searle.
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James Harrell beats Stephen Bunting to advance to the last 16 of the World Darts Championship
“It’s absolutely amazing, it’s the biggest win of my career,” said Harrell, who will be making his second appearance for Alexandra Palace.
“We knew how the match was going to go, we just need to sort out the doubles a little bit.
“Steven would celebrate as if he had won the match (at times), so I worked on that. When he handed off the big matches to his family and friends, I felt very happy about it.”
Clayton and Ratajski win Ally Parry crackers, Woodhouse is impressed.
Johnny Clayton averaged 98.44 points, scored 11 top runs and hit 47 percent of his doubles (14 of 30) in a 4-3 victory over dangerous Dutchman Niels Sonneveld.
“It was 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2 and I was thinking, ‘Neels, please let me win,'” Clayton told Sky Sports.
“I’m following all the results. I’ve seen one more lose and one more lose, so this is an opportunity. It gives me hope that I can do it. I feel good every time I step on stage.”
“There were a lot of loose darts. We need to get rid of them. The more two-treble visits we get, the better our chances are.”
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Andreas Harrison checked out 146 to see off Ricardo Pietrico at Alexandra Palace.
Creighton will face Swedish debutant Andreas Harrison, who performed well with a 4-2 win over Ricardo Pietrecko.
Krzysztof Ratajski fought back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Gerwyn Price’s conqueror Wesley Plazier by wasting three match darts.
The ‘Polish Eagle’ averaged 98 points, hit the 180’s six times and had four incredible checkouts of 152, 127 and 117 to seal the deal with a 116 finish.
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Krzysztof Ratajski scores a 116 checkout to defeat Wesley Plazier, who was trailing 3-1 in sets!
Towering Dutchman Plesier stunned the darts world with a whitewash victory over ninth seed Price. The Welshman was previously considered a strong candidate for the Sid Waddell Trophy.
However, Ratajski recorded some clutch finishes and a successful second 10-dart leg of the tournament, recording a fantastic comeback success.
Ratajski will return to the last 16 for the second time in his career to face Luke Woodhouse, who defeated former British Open champion Andrew Gilding 4-1.
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