Teenager Luke Littler beat his friend Nathan Aspinall 5-2 to set up a semi-final against Stephen Bunting in the PDC World Championship.
Image source, PA Media-
1 January 2025, 14:45 GMT
Teenager Luke Littler beat his friend Nathan Aspinall 5-2 to set up a semi-final against Stephen Bunting in the PDC World Championship.
The 17-year-old, looking to go one better after finishing runner-up 12 months ago, dominated with an average of 101.54.
Littler is odds-on favourite for the title, but will meet formidable opposition in Bunting, who overcame two-time champion Peter Wright 5-2.
Thursday’s other semi-final will feature three-time winner Michael van Gerwen against Chris Dobey.
After some nervy moments in earlier matches, fourth seed Littler took charge early on as he grabbed the first set within four minutes with an average of 118.66.
World number 12 Aspinall, whose run to the last eight came after a year plagued by elbow and wrist injuries, tried to stay competitive but was overpowered by his fellow Englishman’s impressive scoring.
The teenager hit 15 180s as he stayed on track to be the youngest winner of the tournament – van Gerwen was aged 24 years and nine months when he won his first title in 2014.
Littler, who turns 18 later in January, is seeking to crown a remarkable 12 months after losing to Luke Humphries at the age of 16 in last year’s showpiece.
He won 10 titles in his debut year as a professional, earned more than £1m in prize money and picked up the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award.
Bunting storms to victory over Wright
Image source, PA MediaWright, who won the title in 2020 and 2022, beat defending champion Luke Humphries in the previous round as he found some form after a difficult year.
But he was overpowered by Masters champion Bunting, who looked in complete control from the moment he walked out to the strains of David Guetta’s ‘Titanium’.
The 39-year-old raced into a 4-0 lead before 17th seed Wright clawed back to two behind with a 133 checkout in the sixth set.
It was only a temporary blip for Bunting, who is now up to fifth in the world from eighth, and he led the crowd in a rendition of ‘Let’s go Bunting mental’ after sealing victory and finishing with an average of 95.55 .
“In the back room I felt really nervous, on edge,” said Bunting, who won the BDO world title at Lakeside 11 years ago.
“Peter Wright is a massive fans’ favourite, a great mate of mine and he’s my son’s favourite player so I feel sorry for my son.”
Van Gerwen wins classic to face Dobey
Image source, Getty ImagesMichael van Gerwen battled past unseeded Callan Rydz in a brilliant last-eight tie to set up a semi-final against Chris Dobey.
Third seed Van Gerwen’s last world title came in 2019 but he held off the big-scoring Rydz in impressive style to win 5-3 and move a step closer to a fourth world title.
Meanwhile, Dobey came from two sets down to beat former champion Gerwyn Price 5-3 and reach the last four for the first time.
In a match of the highest quality, Van Gerwen twice edged ahead but each time Rydz – who hit 17 180s in the match – fought back to level.
The Dutchman pulled two sets clear at 4-2 but was again pegged back by Rydz before coming through to win with an average of 103.1.
Rydz ended with an average of 103.88 and hit 46.15% on the doubles but it wasn’t enough against an inspired Van Gerwen, who was at 44.74% on checkouts.
From the fifth set, neither player averaged less than 103.59 with ‘Mighty Mike’ losing the seventh despite an average of 111.67.
“To be part of games like this always gives you a lot of joy. It’s probably one of my best performances in a long time,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports.
“He gave everything and put pressure on me constantly. He didn’t stop hitting trebles and never gave up. My game is in a good place, but it doesn’t mean anything yet.”
Dobey, who lost in the last eight in the past two years, held firm after a blistering start from Wales’s 2021 winner Price to win four sets on the bounce and had five darts to win 5-2.
The Englishman’s failure to finish the job brought back memories of his quarter-final defeat by Rob Cross last year, when he surrendered a 4-0 lead.
However, a break allowed Dobey to regroup and ensured there would be no repeat of that collapse, sealing the victory with a brilliant double-double finish on the 18s.
“I’ve never been so nervous throwing for a winning double as I have today,” said Dobey. “I’m just pleased I grinded it out and got the win.”
Wednesday’s quarter-final results
Chris Dobey 5-3 Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen 5-3 Callan Rydz
Peter Wright 2-5 Stephen Bunting
Luke Littler 5-2 Nathan Aspinall