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Luke Littler defeated Brendan Dolan 5-1 to set up a semi-final matchup with Rob Cross, who came back from four sets down to surprise Chris Dobbie.The World Darts Championship runs until the final on January 3, 2024 – broadcast live on Sky Sports Darts from 7pm
by Ali Stafford at Alexandra Palace
16:57, UK, Monday 1 January 2024
Luke Littler continued his impressive debut run by defeating Brendan Dolan to smoothly reach the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship.
Littler, 16, had a dominant performance against the Northern Irish, averaging 101.93 points and scoring five goals. The Northern Irishman had beaten former world champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson in the previous round, but lost 5-1.
Littler was in control from start to finish, booking a semi-final against 2018 world champion Rob Cross and becoming the first player in the tournament’s history to come from behind 4-0 down in the quarter-finals to win.
Cross narrowly dropped five straight sets and defeated Chris Dobbie in the final set deciding match to advance to the last four for the first time since lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy six years ago.
Littler’s rapid advance continues
Dolan hit a checkout of 101 in the first leg to make the break throw, taking advantage of the debutant missing his next two darts, and Littler responded by taking the next two to open the set. brought it to the deciding match.
Littler turned to the crowd before attempting the final dart of “Big Fish,” but missed the bullseye and clinched the set on his next visit, only to be broken early in the second set with a stunning 100 checkout. .
He followed with a 12-dart hold as he raced through straight leg, reacting to Dolan’s 88 in the bullseye and firing a 111 to follow up with a break and jump to a three-set lead.
Dolan had the biggest finish of the match in the fourth set with a held throw for 142, but lost the next three legs to go down four sets, but took advantage of Littler’s sloppy finishing to take a 118 checkout. I got the set. board.
Littler responded with a 140 finish on the break throw in the opening leg of the sixth, then held on in the next leg to the brink of victory, capping off his latest victory with a stunning 13 darter.
Littler: “I’m glad to be here.” told Sky Sports. “We won it and performed well. We also averaged over 100 and had a 47 percent success rate on doubles, so it worked out well for us today as well.”
“If I keep this up, I have a good chance. I’m dreaming now! There are only two matches left. I’m definitely thinking about lifting the title.”
Cross knocks Dobby unconscious in Thriller
Cross fought back from a 4-0 deficit to wrest a stunning victory from Chris Dobie in the final set, creating one of the greatest comebacks in World Darts Championship history.
Dobie broke twice en route to taking the first set, posting checkouts of 89 and 100 along the way, and reacting to Cross’s missed set dart in the second set to win the next two legs and 2- I moved up the ranking with 0.
Hopes for a cross turned over as Dobie raced through the third set on straight legs, posting an incredible average of 122 to take the fourth set by a tie, and finishing 161 along the way to come within a winning set. is almost finished. .
Cross hit a checkout of 92 and hit 14-dart and 13-dart legs to win the fifth set, and the 2018 champion broke Doby early in the sixth set to set up the decider for the next and final leg. He fought his way through and won the third set in a row. .
Cross dragged the match into the final set and won for the first time with a 117 checkout and a 130 checkout in consecutive legs, but Doby quickly broke back and held the next throw to force overtime.
An incredible 10-dart leg puts Cross ahead 4-3 in the deciding set as ‘Voltage’ takes a dramatic win in the next leg of D8 and advances to the semi-finals for the first time since his success at the World Championships did.
Cross told Sky Sports: “I didn’t feel like it, but towards the end I thought let’s move forward and we can win. Credit to Chris.” [Dobey]. He really gave me a kick in the mouth when I laid up.
“I thought it was all about me and I still believe that even when we lost 4-0. I had one of the best comebacks against Chris in the final.” [World] Since it’s match play, you might even be able to participate in the World Championship! ”
What’s happening at the World Darts Championship on Monday night?
The semi-final line-up will be completed with three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen taking on ‘Shaggy’ Scott Williams.
Dave Chizzy Chisnall will face Cool Hand Luke Humphries in the final match of the quarter-finals, with the winners of these two matches meeting in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
The sport’s biggest event will see the remaining players compete at Alexandra Palace for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5 million in prize money. You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.
Watch the World Darts Championship live until the final on January 3rd on Sky Sports Darts. Stream Sky Sports without a contract now.
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