Defending champion Luke Littler thanked the booing crowd for “paying for my prize money” as he took on previous winner Rob Cross to reach the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship.
Littler won 4-2 and averaged 106.58 – the third highest score of this year's tournament – but it was a frustrating night for the 18-year-old.
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The Alexandra Palace crowd were more on the side of Cross, who won the tournament in 2018, hoping for a spectacle and a match for the ages.
The back-to-back finalists were fired up throughout the game and visibly upped their game to devastating effect in the third set after Cross had leveled the match at 1-1.
He averaged a staggering 125.25 in the set, hitting three of four throws to retake the lead with the 13, 11 and 12 dart legs.
He also claimed control of the fourth set before Cross extended the match by taking the fifth set, including a brilliant bull's-eye finish for 126.
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Cross, who entered this tournament as the 17th seed and whose level had recently dropped, broke Littler in the third leg of the sixth set but was immediately put aside as Littler found another level with an average of 117 to take the win.
“It doesn't bother me [by the booing]. Really didn't bother. You guys pay for the tickets and you pay for my prize, so thanks for booing me,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“Nobody wanted me to win, but I proved them wrong once again.
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“This is not yet achievable. You need to get to the final. I'll have two days off and then I'll be back for New Year's. I'm spending New Year's Eve and New Year's in London, so we'll do it again.”
Littler will face 25th seed Luke Woodhouse on New Year's Day or Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski in the last eight.
Aspinall's final seed has fallen and 20-year-old Manby wins
Nathan Aspinall's quarter-final run last year was his only appearance beyond the third round since 2020. [Getty Images]
Nathan Aspinall was the bottom seed at the PDC World Championship but 20-year-old Charlie Manby continued his dream run by reaching the last 16.
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Aspinall, who reached the semi-finals in 2019 and 2020, lost 4-3 in the final set to Kevin Doets of the Netherlands.
The 15th seed won the first and third sets but was pinned back on both occasions only to seize control again with a staggering 170 points to claim the fifth set.
However, Doets took over after that, losing his sixth leg in a row, claiming a sixth straight win over Aspinall and a Round of 16 equalizer against world number two Luke Humphreys on Tuesday.
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Manby, taking part in the tournament for the first time, defeated Ricky Evans with a score of 4-2.
The Huddersfield mason struggled with his doubles from the start, converting just four of his 30 attempts in the first three sets to lose 2-1.
Scoring was never an issue, however, and his scoring accuracy improved, along with his gap to Evans as he secured a place in the fourth round and a minimum of £60,000 in prize money.
He will face Dutchman Jan van Veen in the next round in what will be his toughest test to date, with the 10th seed having a tournament-record match average of 108.28 in his second round win.
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After the match, Evans wrote on Facebook that he had received death threats, as well as hate and crude jokes.
Another debutant also progressed as Somerset's Justin Hood beat Ryan Meikle 4-1.
He led 3-0 before Meikle served a set back but Hood secured his place and subsequently said he would not have to work in 2026 after he also confirmed the prize money was at least £60,000.
He has already climbed to a provisional 63rd world ranking and said after the match that he still dreams of opening a Chinese restaurant someday.
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He will face 11th seed Josh Rock in the last 16 after the Northern Irishman beat Callan Reeds 4-2 in their third round final match.
Rydz was emotional after the death of his grandfather after the previous match.
Monday results
Afternoon session – third round
Justin Hood 4-1 Ryan Meikle
Ricky Evans 2-4 Charlie Manby
Nathan Aspinall (15) – Kevin Doates 3–4
Evening session – third round
Josh Rock (11) 4-1 Callan Reeds
Fourth round
James Harrell 0–4 Ryan Searle (20)
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Luke Littler (1) 4-2 Rob Cross (17)
schedule for Tuesday
Afternoon session (12:30 GMT)
Luke Woodhouse (25) in the film “Krzysztof Ratajska”
Johnny Clayton (5) vs. Andreas Harrisson
Justin Hood vs. Josh Rock (11)
Evening session (19:00 GMT)
Charlie Manby v Jan van Veen (10)
Michael van Gerwen (3) vs. Gary Anderson (14)
Luke Humphreys (2) vs. Kevin Doates
