Matchplay

Gerwyn Price produced a clinical display to beat Ross Smith 16-12 in the World Matchplay quarter-finals, setting up a meeting with Gian van Veen in the last four.

The Welshman looked to be in control of the last-eight tie at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens before Smith fought back from 12-8 down to draw level.

However, Price was able to raise his game again to seal victory with a 102.78 average as he bids to reach the final of the tournament for the first time.

“Ross played a decent game as well, so it’s nice to play well when someone is playing well. It gives you a bit of confidence going into the next round,” Price told Sky Sports.

“For him to get back to 12-12, I thought ‘here we go again’, but thankfully I rode off four legs on the bounce.”

Price will play Van Veen of the Netherlands in the semi-finals on Saturday after the Dutchman chalked up a 16-13 win over spirited James Wade.

Van Veen seized the upper hand early on and had a three-leg cushion at 11-7, only for Wade to battle back and get on level terms at 11-11.

Englishman Wade kept pegging Van Veen back until the third seed produced a 118 checkout to break Wade’s throw to go 14-12 up before he wrapped up victory.

“It was a tight battle, but I’m glad I got the job done,” Van Veen said.

“I was so lucky James wasn’t scoring as well and my finishing got me through. Hopefully in the semis I will be a lot better.”

Defending champion and world number one Luke Littler faces unseeded Dirk van Duijvenbode in the other semi-final, after they won through on Thursday.

Follow live coverage of the semi-finals on the BBC Sport website and app from 19:30 BST on Saturday.

Luke Littler’s World Matchplay title defence continued with a straightforward 16-7 quarter-final win over Josh Rock in Blackpool.

Rock initially kept pace with the world number one as the players traded breaks to reach 5-5.

But after 19-year-old Littler reeled off five legs in a row, there proved to be no way back for Rock as the defending champion, in dazzling form, cruised into the semi-finals.

After throwing 17 180s with a scoring average of 109.57, Littler said: “At the minute, everything’s going to plan.”

The teenager added: “I feel good. I can afford to miss a few doubles because the scoring’s there.

“Once again another brilliant performance, but fair play to Josh, he put up a good fight.”

Littler will play unseeded Dirk van Duijvenbode of the Netherlands in Saturday’s semi-final.

Earlier on Thursday evening, tournament outsider Van Duijvenbode survived a late surge by Gary Anderson to reach his first Matchplay semi-final.

Anderson, the 2018 World Matchplay champion, threatened to close an eight-leg deficit with a fine late display including a 154 checkout, but Van Duijvenbode held on for a 16-13 win.

Reflecting on his second-round tie-break win over Michael van Gerwen, Van Duijvenbode had said that shaking “like a little child crying for his mum” allowed his compatriot back into match after leading 8-4.

After leading 8-4 again on Thursday, Van Duijvenbode dropped two consecutive legs but then stormed into a 14-6 lead by winning the next six without reply.

However, it would be a further nine legs until Van Duijvenbode won the tie as a resurgent Anderson pushed him hard.

World number one Luke Littler threw a thrilling nine-darter as he booked his place in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay with a 11-8 win over Nathan Aspinall.

Littler began the contest at Winter Gardens in Blackpool in sensational fashion with a perfect leg, finishing on double 15.

The Warrington teenager cupped his ears to lap up the adulation of a delirious crowd while fellow Englishman Aspinall laughed in disbelief before he gave Littler a high five.

Excitement levels were raised further in the fourth leg when Littler had double 15 remaining for a second nine-darter, only for his arrow to land just the wrong side of the wire.

Aspinall turned to the crowd and jokingly offered up his darts to see if anyone else wanted to give the 19-year-old a game.

He refused to allow Littler to pull away, though, and managed to haul himself back on terms at 7-7 only for the defending champion to reel off the next three legs.

Aspinall briefly rallied again but when he missed tops in the 19th leg, Littler was able to checkout 52 as he sealed victory with an incredible 113.68 average – the second highest in the tournament’s history – featuring a total of 14 180s.

“The nine-darter just happened. These guys [the crowd] were booing me at the beginning and then they started cheering me on!” Littler told Sky Sports.

“It felt amazing and that was probably the best game Nathan and I have played against each other – it’s never over against Nathan because he never gives up.

“That’s two unbelievable performances from myself here. Hopefully I can pick up the title again, but I just have to focus on who I play next.”

Littler will play the winner of the final second-round match on Tuesday between Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting.

Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen’s campaign ended as he suffered a 14-12 defeat to fellow Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Van Gerwen had battled back from 8-4 down to level the match at 10-all but Van Duijvenbode closed out the contest.

Scotland’s Gary Anderson also progressed to the last eight with an 11-7 win over Welshman Jonny Clayton.

World number two Luke Humphries is out of the World Matchplay after a shock first-round loss to Scotland’s Cameron Menzies.

The former world champion was punished for some poor finishing and lost his first six legs with the darts before finally holding throw.

Humphries threatened to stage a dramatic comeback, winning four legs on the spin to get back to 8-7 but Menzies sealed a stunning 10-7 victory in style by reeling in the ‘big fish’ – a maximum 170 checkout.

The result will come as a huge disappointment to Humphries after he had shown signs of returning to top form – beating Luke Littler to win the US Darts Masters in June – in the past couple of months after a slow start to the year.

But for Menzies, ranked 27th in the world, it is a momentous victory and one he says he “will take to his grave” as he becomes just the second unseeded player to advance at this year’s tournament.

The Scot will now face 15th seed Ross Smith in the second round on Wednesday after the Englishman’s 10-6 win over Netherlands’ Kevin Doets.

Both players averaged over 100 and managed over 50% on the doubles in a high-quality match but Smith hit when it mattered most to progress.

Meanwhile, Gerwyn Price survived a scare before overcoming Germany’s Martin Schindler 11-9.

The Welshman admitted it was “probably one I should’ve lost” after falling 4-0 and 6-2 behind.

Even after fighting back to take his first lead at 9-8, Price was made to work to finish it off as Schindler hit a 121 checkout to break back before the seventh seed eventually sealed the win in the 20th leg.