PDC World Darts Championship Round-up | Gary Anderson puts on the afterburners to fend off Justin Hood while scintillating Searle defeats sloppy Clayton

Gary Anderson rolled back the years with a phenomenal final few sets to knock out fan favourite Justin Hood to cement his spot in the PDC World Darts Championship semi-final.

The Flying Scotsman started the brighter, soaring into a one set lead without dropping a leg. Hood, who pinned his first 11 doubles in his prior tie against Josh Rock in an unprecedented doubling performance, was unable to repeat this feat as Anderson pinned double five to take the premature advantage.

A clinical break on tops saw Anderson make it four legs in a row. Hood replied very positively, breaking straight back after the Scot failed to reel in the big fish. He then took out 96 and 100 to put this last-eight tie all square.

In the first few sets, all the legs came for the players in large spurts. Anderson went 2-0 up with a brace of 15-darters before regaining his set advantage moments later. He almost made it four in a row with a 132 on the bull before three missed at double 15 allowed Hood to hold. Anderson broke to throw for the set, but roles were reversed a leg later as Hood took out 120 to make the score 2-2.

Anderson was concocting a fascinating pattern When starting a set on his throw, he has yet to lose a leg. He survived missed darts from Hood as the 55-year-old broke before sealing the set on double 10 to get back in front.

Hood looked destined to take a 2-0 lead but two missed on the outer ring allowed Anderson to show his experience, taking out 72 in two to draw level in the sixth set. Deja-vu in the next leg as the same thing occurred, this time Anderson took out 98 on double 19. He then completed a checkout of 121 on tops to move within one leg of an eighth World Championship semi-final, and the first since 2022.

He was on song, taking out 161 as he continued to assert himself on the Ally Pally stage. The afterburners were turned up full power as Anderson raced towards the finishing line, wasting no time in ending Hood’s fairytale run with his fifth match dart. It will be a blockbuster semi-final featuring Anderson and one of Luke Humphries or Gian van Veen.

Ryan Searle has reached a maiden semi-final at Ally Pally after a brilliant performance against Jonny Clayton, defeating him 5-2 to make it into the semi-finals. Searle had lost just 11 legs in the whole of the World Championship so far this year, all without losing a set. He continued his form with a ruthless start. He pinned double 12 the first time of asking before Clayton replied with a hold on double two. In need of a break, the Welshman left 71 after nine but would not return after Searle took out 125 on tops. Clayton was averaging over 113 but barely had a sniff.

The Ferret should have broken in the opening set, but four missed darts allowed Searle to come back and pin tops after missing his first double of the match. He then took out 116 after another chance was thrown away by Clayton. Searle wrapped the set up with a 171 before nailing double 18 for a 14-darter.

That was his 16th consecutive set. He looked like a 17th was on the horizon after he went into a 2-0 lead with his doubling up at 66%. For Clayton, it was 15%. He held to keep in the set, before missing a brace of darts at double 12 to break. Searle, as ever, was there to punish him as he went 3-0 ahead. He had pinned six out of eight attempts on double 20.

The first break eventually came for Clayton, but it still involved a lot of faff with three missed at double 16. He was unable to keep this advantage, with Searle showcasing his worst doubling of the match so far, missing four darts before finding double two. The Welshman utilised that target to break back and nicked a set off Searle, the first player to do that in the event.

The former Premier League champion made it three legs on the spin but a 24th and 25th missed dart on the outer ring saw Searle end the drought. He then broke with a 97 outshot but was forced to a last-leg decider. With Clayton handy on 72, he took out 111 to edge within one set of the semi-final stage at Ally Pally.

This would have to wait, with Clayton upping his level. He broke the throw after pinning double eight with the first dart in hand before going out in 11 to seal the sixth set. However, the hopes of a comeback were dashed within a couple of legs. Searle took out 76 and 87 in two darts to move one away before getting the job done on double eight. It is the biggest win of his life, which sees him reach a career high of world number seven in the world, debuting in the top 10. He will be looking to make more progress, with a semi-final clash against either the reigning champion Luke Littler or Krzysztof Ratajski.