Defending champion Luke Littler received a hugely positive response from the Alexandra Palace crowd as he raced to a straight-set win over Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in the PDC World Championship quarter-finals.
The aftermath of Littler’s fourth-round victory over Rob Cross on Monday was dominated by the booing aimed at the world number one by a section of spectators and the 18-year-old’s post-match reaction.
There was a small smattering of boos as Littler was introduced by MC John McDonald before facing Ratajski, but they were quickly drowned out by those singing along to his walk-on song and a lengthy rendition of “there’s only one Luke Littler” followed before a dart was thrown.
There were more cheers as Littler produced a superb 170 checkout to clinch the first set and he then won 12 of the subsequent 15 legs to defeat his unseeded opponent Ratajski.
Littler, who is aiming to reach a third final in three PDC World Championship appearances, ended with a three-dart average of 100.04, hit 10 180s and landed 55.6% of his attempts at doubles.
“The crowd were very good tonight – it’s a new year so obviously there must be some new fans,” joked Littler in an interview with Sky Sports.
“The fans were great, I was good and we move on to tomorrow.”
He will play fellow Englishman Ryan Searle in the semi-finals on Friday, after he defeated Jonny Clayton 5-2 during the afternoon session.
On Searle, Littler added: “I’ve always been watching the darts throughout the tournament and I saw how he got on this afternoon.
“He hadn’t dropped a set [before his quarter-final]. I’m the next man in his way and he’s in the way for me. Hopefully we can have a good game.”
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Meanwhile, two-time champion Gary Anderson ended debutant Justin Hood’s exceptional run to clinch a semi-final place for the first time in four years.
The first four sets of their quarter-final were shared before Scotland’s Anderson, 55, stepped on the accelerator – winning nine of the next 10 legs to secure a convincing victory.
He will play either Luke Humphries or Gian van Veen for a place in the final.
English left-hander Hood, 32, has earned plenty of plaudits for his play and become a crowd favourite during his first appearance at Alexandra Palace.
Hood has earned £100,000 for reaching the quarter-finals – a portion of which he has said he intends to use to open a Chinese restaurant – and has risen from 86th to 50th in the PDC world rankings.
Semi-finalist Searle aims to be ‘inspiration’
Searle had won 14 consecutive sets without reply to reach his first World Championship quarter-final.
The 38-year-old extended that run to 17 with some clinical finishing in the first three sets against Clayton and a 111 finish in the deciding leg of the fifth, one of his three ton-plus checkouts in the match, helped to secure a spot in the last four.
Clayton scored better for long spells of the quarter-final but too many missed attempts on the outer ring proved costly for the Welsh fifth seed, who landed just 10 of his 40 attempts at doubles (25%).
Searle, in contrast, hit 17 of his 30 attempts (56.7%).
Searle lives with dominant optic atrophy, a genetic eye condition which affects his vision and for which he wears contact lenses.
Speaking to Sky Sports on stage after his win, he said: “I can’t see particularly well.
“Other people who try to play darts, if they can’t see particularly well, try not to let that hold you back.
“I try to be an inspiration to them.”
Quarter-final results
- Ryan Searle 5-2 Jonny Clayton
- Gary Anderson 5-2 Justin Hood
- Luke Littler 5-0 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Luke Humphries v Gian van Veen
Semi-final draw
- Luke Littler v Ryan Searle
- Humphries/Van Veen v Gary Anderson
Semi-final matches are best of 11 sets and will be played on Friday, 2 January from 19:30 GMT
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