Three-time winner Michael van Gerwen defeated unseeded Callan Rydz in a brilliant round of 16 draw to set up a semi-final against Chris Dobey at the PDC World Championship.
Third seed Van Gerwen’s last world title came in 2019, but he held off big-scorer Rydz in impressive style to win 5-3 and move closer to a fourth triumph at the Alexandra Palace.
Meanwhile, Dobey came back from two sets down to beat former champion Gerwyn Price 5-3 and reach the final four for the first time.
Teenager Luke Littler faces Nathan Aspinall after Stephen Bunting met two-time champion Peter Wright in the other quarter-final on Wednesday night.
In a match of the highest quality, Van Gerwen twice took the lead, but each time Rydz – who managed 17 180s in the match – came back to level.
The Dutchman took a two-set lead at 4-2 but was caught again by Rydz before winning with an average of 103.1.
Rydz finished with a 103.88 average and hit 46.15% in doubles, but it wasn’t enough against an inspired Van Gerwen, who was at 44.74% at checkouts.
From the fifth set onwards, neither player averaged lower than 103.59, with “Mighty Mike” losing the seventh despite averaging 111.67.
“Participating in games like this always gives you a lot of joy. It’s probably one of my best performances in a long time,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports.
“He gave everything and constantly put pressure on me. He kept scoring hat-tricks and never gave up. My game is in a good position, but that doesn’t mean anything yet.
Dobey, who has lost in the last eight for the past two years, held on after a blistering start from 2021 Welsh winner Price to win four sets on the bounce and landed five darts to win 5-2.
The Englishman’s failure to finish the job reminded him of his quarter-final defeat to Rob Cross last year, when he surrendered a 4-0 lead.
However, a break allowed Dobey to regroup and ensured there would be no repeat of that collapse, sealing the victory with a brilliant double-double on the 18.
“I’ve never been as nervous as I was today about launching a winning double,” Dobey told Sky Sports. “I’m just happy I did it and got the win.”
