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Luke Littler says he must “stay composed and try and get over that line” when he takes on Luke Humphries in the final; watch the World Darts Championship final at 7.30pm on Wednesday – live on Sky Sports Darts

Teenage sensation Luke Littler admits it’s “beyond believable” that he has reached the World Darts Championship final where he will face Luke Humphries.

Littler became the youngest player ever to reach the final when he defeated Rob Cross 6-2 with quite a bit to spare.

The 16-year-old, who is days away from his 17th birthday (Jan 21), now has a shot at claiming an historic place in the sport as he takes aim at the title at Alexandra Palace.

He is now on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, which would rival Emma Raducanu’s US Open win in 2021.

“It’s not even sunk in yet,” said Littler. “I threw big averages on the floor the past year and I’m happy to bring it on to the big stage.

“I’ve got to stay focused, be Luke Littler and relax. It’s beyond believable. I only set a goal of winning one game and coming back after Christmas and I’m still standing.

“I can’t imagine lifting the trophy. I have to just beat whoever is in front of me. I’ve got to stay mature, got to be myself and keep myself to myself.

“I’ve got to stay composed and try and get over that line.”

Littler has knocked out two former World Champions in Raymond van Barneveld and Cross, and now he has he sights set on holding aloft The Sid Waddell Trophy when he faces the best player on planet darts in Humphries.

“I’ve just got to beat whoever is in front of me tomorrow. It’s not even sunk in yet,” he said. “This World Championship I’ve got nothing to lose, it’s just a free hit and here I am still standing. There’s no pressure, I just take everything in my stride.

“I’ve got to believe in myself, believe in my ability and so far, so good.”

Littler, who revealed he received pre-match messages from footballers Luke Shaw and Rio Ferdinand, only qualified for the tournament by winning the World Youth Championship in November and his fairy tale run has put the PDC under pressure to hand him a place in the forthcoming Premier League.

Humphries delivered one of the best ever performances at the tournament as he whitewashed Michael van Gerwen’s conqueror Scott Williams 6-0.

“The way he’s played, I’ve seen it many times,” Humphries said of Littler. “When you come up on this stage it can be a lot tougher but he’s just proved he’s got a lot of bottle.

“Nothing is going to faze him. If he plays like he did tonight, tomorrow is not going to faze him at all, so I will probably have to play the game of my life.

“I will probably have to play like that again to stand a chance of beating him.

“I know what’s in front of me and what the task is. I’ve got to play at my best tomorrow but I’m hoping I make him play his best as well and we give the fans hopefully one of the best World finals we have ever seen.”

Pundit Wayne Mardle admits Littler continues to perform beyond the highest level, calling his performances “magnificent”.

“He averages 106.05 in the biggest match of his life,” Mardle said. “The kid just takes it all in his stride. Absolutely magnificent.

“If you’re sat at home and witnessed that or are here, you’ve witnessed something utterly mind-boggling. A 16-year-old is in the final of the World Championship.”

Watch the World Darts Championship final at 7.30pm on January 3 – live on Sky Sports Darts. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW

Michael van Gerwen’s hopes of a fourth World Darts Championship title were dashed in stunning fashion by Scott Williams at the quarter-final stage on New Year’s Day.

Williams pulled off a sensational 5-3 scalp of Van Gerwen at Alexandra Palace, punishing 27 missed darts at doubles from the three-time champion to set up a meeting with Luke Humphries.

Williams came charging out of the blocks by winning the opening set in straight legs, but ‘Mighty Mike’ took out 81 for back-to-back 11-darters to close out the second set 3-1 with a set average of 116.71 despite missing 12 darts at double.

Van Gerwen took out a magnificent 121 checkout before pinning double 16 to seize the initiative in the third set.

However, the Dutchman threw in a stinker of a set, averaging just 78, and Williams railroaded it 3-0 to get back on level terms at 2-2.

Van Gerwen appeared to have fallen off a cliff when Lincolnshire showman Williams made it six legs on the spin to lead 3-2, but the three-time World Champion soon restored parity in three consecutive legs to stop the rot.

‘Shaggy’ punished more crucial mistakes from the world No 2 to seal the seventh set 3-1 and go within one of a sensational victory before taking the eighth 3-1 to secure a last-four meeting with either Luke Humphries or Dave Chisnall.

“I just knocked the best player in the world out,” Williams told Sky Sports.

“He wasn’t the Michael van Gerwen we’ve seen over the last couple of games but that’s not my problem.

“I hit the doubles and probably should have won it a little bit easier. I’m absolutely loving it up there. I love a crowd.”

Wayne Mardle called Williams’ win a “massive shock”, but also admitted he did a “number” on the Dutch ace.

“Michael van Gerwen normally loses to someone who is a big hitter already, a world champion or a major champion,” ‘Hawaii 501’ said.

“Scott Williams did a number on him. He was there to clean up when he had to clean up and he held it together so well.

“Even Luke Littler and Rob Cross are giving it… ‘WHAT!?’ What an opportunity for everyone left in the tournament.”

Williams will take on Humphries in the semi-finals after ‘Cool Hand’ thrashed Dave Chisnall 5-1 with a 103.50 average, a dozen 180s, 40 per cent on the doubles and a high checkout of 164.

The World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship winner made it 17 victories in a row to break new ground at Ally Pally.

“It felt strange to be the frontrunner for once,” said Humphries. “I have been used to a lot of comebacks for the last few days and it has just been nice to be me.

“It was nice to be in front and keep pushing hard and I didn’t relent. Chizzy played really well, he made it really tough for me.

“I haven’t been myself in the first couple of games. Tonight, we saw the form I have been showing in the last few majors.

“I played as well as I needed to.”

How Littler set up Cross semi-final…

In the afternoon, Luke Littler’s amazing Alexandra Palace journey continued after he became the youngest semi-finalist ever after he beat Brendan Dolan 5-1 in the quarter-final.

‘The History Maker’ Dolan had beaten former World Champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson but could not compete with Littler, who finished with an average of 101.93 to thrill his adoring fans inside Ally Pally.

“It feels unbelievable. I would never have thought I would have got to the semis on my debut year,” he said.

“Brendan was just another opponent in my way and I have brushed him aside and now I am into the semi-final.

“It’s going to take a lot to stop me, based on my performances so far. But it is about whatever Luke Littler turns up.

“I have got the ability to go all the way, if it’s not to be tomorrow night, it’s not to be.

“I know I have got a good chance and I have got a good feeling I could go all the way tomorrow.”

He will meet Rob Cross for a spot in the final after ‘Voltage’ looked dead and buried when he was 4-0 down after barely 45 minutes as Chris Dobey played one of the matches of his life.

However, the off-stage break worked wonders for Cross as the former electrician sparked into life.

He reeled off four sets of his own and then took out 130 to seal a remarkable win but he will have to improve if he is stop the Littler train.

“Everyone loves an underdog story,” he said. “As the public and people looking at the game, everyone loves an underdog story.

“I am not being rude, I am on his side, I love an underdog story.

“It took a bit of pressure off me winning it first time as well.

“He’s fantastic and he deserves all the luck in the world, he is a nice young boy. Tomorrow we play darts, though, and I have to go down to business.”

What’s happening on semi-finals night at the World Darts Championship?

Littler will take on 2018 winner Cross in the first semi-final having already proven he is ready to compete on the biggest stage after taking out UK Open winner Andrew Gilding and his hero Raymond van Barneveld on his way to the last eight and he maintained that form against Dolan on New Year’s Day.

Cross produced one of the most memorable Alexandra Palace comebacks having gone 4-0 to Chris Dobey before reeling off four sets of his own and then taking out 130 to seal a famous win.

Having knocked out three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen, ‘Shaggy’ Scott Williams will take on ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humphries as he continues his quest for a maiden Ally Pally title.

Humphries came into the tournament as the favourite after winning three of the last four majors but had endured a bumpy ride to the last eight, surviving a sudden death leg against Joe Cullen in the last round.

But he was back to his best in his quarter-final, dispatching Dave Chisnall 5-1.

The sport’s biggest event sees the remaining players compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace. You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.

Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports Darts. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW

Gary Cotterill and Oliver Yew review Arsenal’s second consecutive defeat as they were beaten by Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League.

Teenager Luke Littler crushed his darting idol Raymond van Barneveld 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, where he will play Brendan Dolan.

The 16-year-old averaged 105.01, hit nine 180s to record a sensational victory over a legend in five-time World Champion, Van Barneveld.

“Unbelievable! My average has shown it, my double percentage has shown it – I don’t know what to say!”, Littler told Sky Sports.

“He (Van Barneveld) said ‘you can go all the way, I hope you can go all the way’. I said ‘thank you’ – he’s a true gentleman and I respect Raymond.”

“I fancy myself [to win the whole thing], I do fancy myself! Let’s just focus on Brendan [Dolan].”

‘The Nuke’ showed no signs of nerves as he won a rip-roaring first set 3-1 with a 103.8 average and 3/4 on the doubles.

The world youth champion was soon in dreamland after easing through the second set to strengthen his grip on the match for the loss of just two legs.

Van Barneveld squandered two set darts in the next as Littler pounced to make it three without reply, averaging 110.68 in the set and 53 per cent on the doubles.

‘Barney’ held firm on double 6 to get off the mark in the fourth set and keep his hopes alive, but the teen star from Warrington stormed through to set up a meeting with Brendan Dolan by winning the deciding leg of the fifth set with a nerveless 130 set up shot before returning for double 15

“It’s incredible beating one of my idols on the biggest stage of all, I still can’t believe it,” Littler said. “I think I am daring to dream now, I have seen the draw.

“I am only three wins away now. I’m so young, only 16 and I have got nothing to fear, I have got no one to fear, my game can be better than anyone’s on the day and I have shown it there against one of the greatest to have graced that stage.

“With performances like that I can go all the way.

“I’ve pictured myself winning it. I look at the draw and see Brendan next and then Chris Dobey against Rob Cross in the other quarter.

“I fancy myself. I do fancy myself.”

Dolan followed up his upset win over Gerwyn Price by pulling off another famous scalp by knocking out two-time world champion Gary Anderson 4-3 to reach the quarter-finals for the second time in his career.

After falling 2-0 down, ‘The Flying Scotsman’ turned the match on its head to go in front for the first time but fellow veteran Dolan fired in 14, 14 and 15 dart legs to send a dramatic contest all the way to a final set.

But Anderson crumbled under pressure in the fourth leg of the deciding set, failing with four darts at double to allow Dolan to complete a stunning upset on double 3.

“That was some game,” said Dolan. “I was wondering what was wrong with Gary but then he kicked into gear and the next thing he’s ahead of me. I’m wondering ‘don’t let this go, make him win it’ – it was in the lap of the gods,” said Dolan.

World No 3 Luke Humphries recovered from two sets down and two legs down in the subsequent tie-break set to somehow close out a breathtaking 4-3 victory over Joe Cullen in sudden-death thanks to a 12-dart leg.

‘Cool Hand’ required 10 match-darts to win a seven-set and 36-leg thriller.

“I just think that’s one of the best games I’ve been part of. I feel sorry for Joe,” said Humphries. “I never give up and that somehow allows me to keep going. I’ve survived again.”

The afternoon session got under way with a clinical performance by Scott Williams to book his spot in the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Damon Heta.

Williams produced some ruthless finishing, while Heta struggled on the doubles, a 170 out the highlight of proceedings.

Williams will now face one of the tournament favourites Michael van Gerwen on New Year’s Day.

Perennial TV finalist Dave Chisnall held his nerve to grind out a 4-2 win over Daryl Gurney.

Chisnall took a 2-0 lead in the tie but Gurney fought back well, 130 and 151 checkouts enabling him to draw parity.

However, ‘Chizzy’ rallied and nine 180s and a 99 average secured his spot in the last 16.

The session concluded with a ruthless performance from Rob Cross as he whitewashed ‘The Ferret’ Jonny Clayton 4-0.

The 2018 champion got off to a superb start as he took a 3-0 lead, with a stunning 140 checkout setting the tone.

Cross missed five match darts as Clayton levelled at 2-2 in the fourth set, but ‘Voltage’ held his nerve to seal a clinical win to set up a mouth-watering clash against ‘Hollywood’ Chris Dobey.

What’s happening on New Year’s Day at the World Darts Championship?

Three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen will take on Scott Williams, with 2018 winner Rob Cross up against Chris Dobey.

Teenage sensation Luke Littler will take on Brendan Dolan, who has already knocked out Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson, with Dave Chisnall facing Luke Humphries or Joe Cullen.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final take place from January 1-3.

The sport’s biggest event sees the remaining players compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace. You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.

Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports Darts. NOW Sports Month Membership: £21 a month for 6 months

Southampton let Plymouth back in at St Mary’s after some calamitous defending allowed Ryan Hardie to make it 2-1.

Damon Heta sealed 4-3 victory over Berry van Peer in sensational manner by taking out a 151 checkout.

Gerwyn Price’s hopes of a second World Championship crown came to an end as he was beaten by Brendan Dolan; the World Darts Championship runs all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – we’re back on Friday at 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Darts

Gerwyn Price says he’s “absolutely gutted” to be knocked out of the World Darts Championship after a dramatic 4-2 defeat to Brendan Dolan on Thursday night.

Dolan put on a phenomenal show as he beat 2021 world champion Price 4-2, incredible 130 and 144 checkouts helping him on his way.

The Welshman could never find a solid spell in the contest and so Dolan continually took advantage, setting up a last-16 clash with either Boris Krcmar or Gary Anderson.

Earlier this month, Price revealed he nearly pulled out of the tournament over concerns about the reception he would face from the crowd but thanked the fans for their support.

“Absolutely gutted with the chances I gave away tonight, trying too hard and beating myself up,” Price wrote on Instagram.

“Just wanna say how much I appreciate the crowd that got behind me, just couldn’t get a flow and Brendan took out every chance I have him, well done to him and hopefully I’ll learn from this, #gutted. But once again thank you.”

Mardle praises ‘underrated’ Dolan

Three years ago, Price beat Dolan in the third round in a sudden death leg on his way to winning the 2021 World Championship.

However, he couldn’t fight back this time after already levelling the match on two occasions before Dolan won the final two sets.

“Price will be so deflated because if he plays well, Dolan doesn’t get half of those chances,” Wayne Mardle told Sky Sports.

“The four biggest legs of the match, Dolan won them all. Gerwyn Price never strung a five or 10-minute spell together and when he did, it was on his own darts and it won him sets 3-1 and 3-0. But it never went over into Brendan’s set.

“You don’t know when a purple patch will come and it never came at the right time for Gerwyn Price. Things were coming at the right time for Brendan.”

Price actually won one more leg than Dolan but the set format meant it was the Northern Irishman who capitalised on his opponent not quite firing on all cylinders.

Mardle thinks Dolan’s timing was “perfect” and believes he has been hard to beat on the tour for over two decades.

“Brendan never went off to a bad spell when it mattered. That last set was incredible,” he continued.

“Dolan never gets the credit because he’s not flamboyant, he’s not one of these ‘speedsters’ like Scott Williams who is a bit marmite and separate the crowd.

“He just does his own thing, plays within himself. Even when he’s nervous, he soon calmed himself down. That was a brilliant performance.

“Don’t forget that’s the second brilliant performance on the bounce. Against Mickey Mansell, he was better than that and could easily do that again. Why can’t he get through to the semi-finals?”

Three-time world champion John Part added: “Brendan got to him. Three years ago, Gerwyn survived a match against Brendan on a last leg decider. Tonight Brendan said ‘look, that wasn’t a fluke’. And he was more timely with good outs.

“He held it together and is a mature, confident darts player. He’s constantly underrated and is a great darts player.”

Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports Darts. Stream Sky Sports with a NOW Sports Month Membership

Hibernian and Hearts were both granted penalties for handball during the Edinburgh derby, however both missed from the spot!

Andy Scott, Gary Logan and Jane Couch discuss whether Francis Ngannou knocking down Tyson Fury was the biggest shock in 2023.

Raymond van Barneveld makes winning start but Dimitri Van den Bergh loses a thriller; the World Darts Championship runs all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – we’re back on Saturday at 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Darts

Raymond van Barneveld rolled back the years as he struck a remarkable 19 140s and came close to a near 100 average on his way to a 3-1 victory over Radek Szaganski on Friday night at the World Darts Championship.

The five-time world champion – who last lifted the title in 2007 – produced the fourth highest average of the tournament with a stellar 99.81 to set up a meeting with Jim Williams in the last 32 after Christmas.

Debutant Szaganski silenced the large contingent of Dutch fans by winning the opening leg but only for Van Barneveld to reel off three in a row to wrap up the set with a 98.6 average and 3/4 on the doubles.

The 56-year-old, playing in his 31st World Championship, continued the relentless finishing spree with an 86 and 104 checkouts at the start of the next before wrapping up the second set on double 5 with his last dart in hand.

Polish-Irish star Szaganski managed a neat hold of throw to stop the rot at the start of the next with a neat 118 finish, but Van Barneveld answered back with a fine 113 and clutch 60 to move within touching distance of victory.

However, the Cork thrower fired in a timely 13-darter on double 14 to edge the third set.

Barney was taken to a deciding leg by a gritty Szaganski in the fourth but a 19th 140 allowed the Dutchman to set up 80 which he took out thanks to a slick two-dart combination.

“There are no easy games. It gives you more pressure. (Peter) Wright has gone, (James) Wade has gone. But hey there’s a guy called Luke Littler, he’s fantastic,” said Van Barneveld.

The boy from Cologne Florian Hempel sensationally recovered from 2-0 down to stun 15th seed Dimitri van den Bergh 3-2, surviving three match darts and saving his PDC Tour Card in the process.

The German won the last six legs on the spin, hitting back-back-back 10-dart legs en route, landing a skin-saving 151 checkout, whilst averaging 106.09 after surviving match darts in an Ally Pally classic.

“I’m the man for the comebacks, I think,” Hempel told Sky Sports. “I started so bad, but the back-to-back 10 darters helped and the 151 kept me in the game.”

There were a total of 17 180s in 20 legs as Chris Dobey won a barnstorming tussle against William O’Connor with a 103.09 average.

The Masters champion, nicknamed ‘Hollywood’, won a deciding set shoot-out to progress to a clash with former European champion Ross Smith up next.

German No 2 Martin Schindler joined his fellow countryman Hempel in the next round after defeating Jermaine Wattimena 3-1.

‘The Wall’ secured a meeting with Scott Williams with a 97 average and 52 per cent on the doubles, despite the quick-fire Dutchman reeling in the fourth 170 finish of the tournament.

The afternoon session of day eight started with an absolute cracker between Northern Irishmen and best friends Brendan Dolan and Mickey Mansell.

There was nothing separating the two and the match went all the way to a tie-break with Dolan edging the win in the deciding leg to set up a meeting with Gerwyn Price.

Dutchman Jeffrey de Graaf wrapped up an impressive 3-1 victory over the ‘Special One’ Jose de Sousa to cause an upset.

Krzysztof Ratajski’s campaign continues after a 3-1 victory over Jamie Hughes.

Hughes battled back from two legs down to take the first set but from there, Ratajski showed his experience to grind out the win and secure his spot in round three.

The final match of the afternoon saw Dirk van Duijvenbode outplayed by big Croatian Boris Krcmar as he made it into the third round for the first time in his career.

He will now face ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Gary Anderson in the next round.

What’s happening on Saturday at the World Darts Championship?

Jonny Clayton, ‘The Bronzed Adonis’ Steve Beaton, youngster Josh Rock and World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall all headline the action at Alexandra Palace on the final day before the Christmas break.

Elsewhere, Kim Huybrechts, ‘Heavy Metal’ Ryan Searle and former semi-finalist Stephen Bunting will be among the high-profile names taking to the stage.

The sport’s biggest event sees 96 players compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace. You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.

Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports Darts. NOW Sports Month Membership: £21 a month for 6 months

One of the biggest stories from the Alexandra Palace so far has been 16-year-old Luke Littler; the World Darts Championship runs all the way until the final on January 3 – we’re back on Friday at 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Darts

Luke Littler was flattered to hear people are comparing him to Michael van Gerwen after he booked a place in the third round of the World Darts Championship.

Littler held off a mid-match charge from the experienced Andrew Gilding to knock out the 20th seed with a 3-1 win on Thursday night.

The 16-year-old won his first match at the Alexandra Palace on Wednesday and his natural throwing style has got the darting world talking.

Ahead of the World Championship, he became the first two-time Junior Darts Corporation world champion and is already being compared to the sport’s greatest ever players including Phil Taylor and Van Gerwen.

Sky Sports Darts‘ Wayne Mardle says Littler is “probably the most naturally gifted player I have ever seen in my life”.

“People do compare me to Michael and see what he’s done and I’ve done. We’ve both done a lot at 16 years of age,” said Littler.

“I’m breaking records and it’s good to know people are talking about me and comparing me to my idols.”

Littler averaged 106.12 on his World Championship debut as he beat Christian Kist 3-0 and will play Matt Campbell in the next round after the Canadian stunned James Wade.

The winner of that match could play Raymond van Barneveld, who gets his campaign under way on Friday night live on Sky Sports Darts, in the last 16.

“I’m glad I’m coming back after Christmas. As soon as he beat Wade, my eyes lit up but I knew I had to get past Christian then Andrew and I’m coming back to face Matt. I’ll take it game by game and just play who’s up against me.

“Matt beat Wade, a multiple major winner, and what he’s done so far is good for Canadian darts but it’s me or him now.”

Littler on ‘unbelievable’ crowd chanting

Littler first picked up a set of darts at 18 months old and had the Alexandra Palace crowd singing “you’re going to school in the morning” during both of his wins.

They also sang “there’s only one Luke Littler”, a chant which Phil Taylor was associated with during his career.

“It was unbelievable, especially when you are going for a double. Throughout the game they were chanting for me and chanting over different chants. You’ve just got to somehow get in the zone when they are all chanting,” said Littler.

He added: “I follow my own Instagram and have gone from 4,000 to 11,000 followers. I’ve had loads of rugby lads, local ones and other teams, follow me and footballers from Ipswich and United U20s. It’s just unbelievable that so many people know about me.”

Part: Littler can handle different situations

Three-time world champion John Part on Littler’s performance against Gilding:

“We learnt he can handle different sorts of situations. I think he did well.

“Andrew was the better average early going, but somehow he managed to steal set one, set two of course.

“Set four saw Luke behind at times but Andrew couldn’t get the darts needed to force a tie breaker.”

Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports Darts. NOW Sports Month Membership: £21 a month for 6 months

Anthony Joshua kept his interview as short as possible as he is fully focused making his arrival in Riyadh, ahead of facing Otto Wallin

Young Tottenham mascot Ralph explains his lively pre-match warm-up against Newcastle which went viral.

Fallon Sherrock makes costly error in defeat as Luke Humphries surges through in style; the World Darts Championship runs all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – we’re back on Monday at 7pm, live on Sky Sports Darts

Fallon Sherrock suffered a gut-wrenching opening round defeat at the World Darts Championship as red-hot Luke Humphries looked cool as a cucumber as he progressed in style on the Alexandra Palace stage.

Sherrock’s opponent Jermaine Wattimena won nine out of the last 12 legs to send ‘The Queen of the Palace’ crashing out in the first round.

Humphries, who has been on an incredible run of form which has seen him win three televised titles in two months at the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals, defeated Lee Evans in straight sets.

Sherrock made a dream start by edging the opening set in a deciding leg with a cool 50 finish in two darts having levelled up the set at 2-2 with an 80 checkout on tops.

The Dutchman recovered well to seal the second set 3-1 and restore parity much to the annoyance of Sherrock, who missed two darts at tops which would have sent it into a deciding leg.

Wattimena soon silenced the rowdy Ally Pally crowd when he blasted his way through the third set without reply to move ahead.

Sherrock’s hopes were ended when she bust when aiming for double 8 with Wattimena sinking a magnificent 110 checkout to level the fourth set at 2-2. He sank double 5 in the deciding leg to claim victory.

“Obviously, I’m gutted with the result,” said Sherrock. “I had spells when I played well tonight but I missed chances at key moments and they cost me.

“Full credit to Jermaine, he was the better player on the night and he punished me when I missed chances.

“The Ally Pally stage is a special place for me and I will be back to hopefully make more positive memories here in the future.”

Three-time quarter-finalist Humphries bossed the opening set of his match against Lee Evans, who hit back with the first 170 checkout of the tournament to narrow the gap in set two before the tournament favourite won the deciding leg to stretch his advantage.

Evans pinned a whopping 116 finish to take a 2-0 lead in the third set but he was punished for a total of 19 missed doubles with ‘Cool Hand Luke’ making it through thanks to a neat 70 checkout on double 16.

“I was not at my best today, the most important thing for me is it felt good,” said the 28-year-old Newbury thrower. “I said in my previous interviews, just get through the first game, it’s always the toughest.

“There will be nothing in that game where I look back and say I’m disappointed in myself because I won the game 3-0 and that’s what I wanted.

“The next game will be tough but I feel I will be a lot lot better than that.

“It’s hard not to get frustrated but this is darts. You can’t always be fantastic and that’s the way it is.”

Dutchman Niels Zonneveld halted ‘The Demolition man’ Darren Webster’s revival to land his very first victory on the World Championship stage.

After easing through the opening two sets, Norfolk ace Webster bounced back by edging the third set in a decider to keep his hopes alive despite 16 missed darts at doubles and an 84 average.

However, ‘Triple Z’, who reached the quarter-finals of the 2021 World Series of Darts, booked his spot in the second round against former European Champion Ross Smith thanks to his ninth match dart.

In the opening match of the night, Florian Hempel recovered from a set down to defeat Ireland’s Dylan Slevin 3-1 with five 180s along the way.

Young Irishman Slevin piled in a 167 but former handball star Hempel showed all his experience to make a winning start to his campaign.

The German will now renew his rivalry with Dimitri Van den Bergh in a fascinating second round tie on Friday, two years after shocking the Belgian.

‘The Rockstar’ lays down marker in afternoon session

Joe Cullen raced into the third round after easing to a straight-sets victory over Darren Penhall on Sunday afternoon.

Cullen fired a 93.41 average and posted six maximums during a comfortable 3-0 win over Penhall, with a 160 checkout also helping set up a last-32 meeting with Ryan Searle, Ian White or Tomoya Goto.

Ricky Evans brushed aside Simon Adams in straight sets earlier in the session to book a second-round clash with Nathan Aspinall, while Wales’ Jim Williams didn’t drop a leg on his way to defeating qualifier Norman Madhoo by the same scoreline.

The contest of the session came when ‘Ginja Ninja’ Matt Campbell battled back from squandering five match darts in the third set and a two-set lead to defeat Lourence Ilagan in a final-set decider.

What’s happening on Monday at the World Darts Championship?

Welshman Gerwyn Price begins his bid to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for a second time on Monday.

The night will also see World Youth Championship finalist Gian van Veen make his World Championship debut.

The sport’s biggest event sees 96 players compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace. You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.

Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports Darts. NOW Sports Month Membership: £21 a month for 6 months