Luke Littler silenced a partisan Amsterdam crowd to beat home favourite Raymond Van Barneveld 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at the World Series of Darts Finals.
Littler broke Van Barneveld in the third leg and held onto his throw for the remainder of the match to book his place in the next round.
The 17-year-old’s bid to scoop the £80,000 top prize continues on Sunday, with Chris Dobey up next after he posted an average of 103.94 to beat Boris Krcmar 6-4.
“I’m overwhelmed to get over the line,” Littler said. “The crowd were very good. It made me pick my game up even more, I enjoyed it.
“Whenever I tried to go ahead, Raymond would hit 180, 140 and put pressure on my finishing. I’m just glad to hit those shots and get over the line.
“As soon as I broke Raymond’s throw to move two legs ahead, I just needed to hold my throw three or four times to win.”
Reigning world champion Luke Humphries beat Damon Heta 6-5 to set up a quarter-final against Michael van Gerwen, who beat compatriot Danny Noppert 6-3.
Michael Smith survived six match darts from Wessel Nijman to reach the quarter-finals after a nail-biting 6-5 win.
Kevin Doets missed three match darts against Rob Cross and was punished as the former world champion hit a stunning 161 checkout to sealed a stunning comeback 6-5 victory.
Elsewhere, Daryl Gurney beat Gerwyn Price 6-3 and Peter Wright coasted past Jeff Smith 6-2 to reach Sunday’s finale in Amsterdam.
World Series of Darts Finals: Sunday schedule
Afternoon Session (11.45am BST)
Quarter-Finals
Luke Littler v Chris Dobey
Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen
Daryl Gurney v Peter Wright
Rob Cross v Michael Smith
Evening Session (6pm BST)
Semi-Finals
Littler/Dobey v Humphries/Van Gerwen
Gurney/Wright v Cross/Smith
Final
Littler/Dobey/Humphries/Van Gerwen v Gurney/Wright v Cross/Smith
Source : Sky Sports
