Luke Littler has booked his place in the last 16 of the PDC World Championship with a 4-1 victory over Ian White.
The teenager has been tipped to get his hands on the trophy at Alexandra Palace at the start of 2025, but he will have to find an extra gear if that is to materialise.
Despite prevailing with 12 180s and a 98.8 average, Littler watched White squander darts for two of the sets that he lost before seeing Littler take advantage.
White rolled back the years in averaging 96.54 himself, yet it was 16 missed doubles from 24 attempts that ultimately cost him the chance of causing a surprise.
Littler now advances through to a meeting with Ryan Joyce, who recorded a 4-3 success over Ryan Searle at the start of Saturday.
LITTLER GETS OVER THE LINE! ☢️
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 28, 2024
Luke Littler comes through a tough test against Ian White!
Almost a 170 to win it! 😯
📺 https://t.co/pIQvhqYxEj#WCDarts | R3 pic.twitter.com/4zcYDvkyxa
Van Gerwen defies Dolan fightback
Michael van Gerwen showed glimmers of his best form in recording a 4-2 victory over Brendan Dolan.
Despite losing the opening set, the three-time world champion found a way to reel off eight successive legs to move himself within a set of a place in the fourth round.
However, his Northern Irish opponent capitalised on 10 missed doubles in the fifth set to extend the match before missing a dart at the bull to force a decider.
Van Gerwen secured the win with the final dart of his next visit to progress with 10 180s and a 97.01 average, a 149 checkout the highlight of the game.
Meanwhile, Chris Dobey came through by a 4-2 scoreline versus Josh Rock, the Tyneside thrower bouncing back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits.
The momentum was with Rock when he averaged in excess of 105 to take the third set, but he would win just three more legs as Dobey's scoring power came to the fore.
Although Rock averaged 106.18 in the sixth set, Dobey posted a 108 average with no missed double attempts to book his spot in the last 16.
Darren Plant
