PDC World Darts Championship Round-up | Gary Anderson rolls back the years as he defeats Michael van Gerwen while Humphries avoids upset against Doets

Gary Anderson showed his class with a brilliant performance in his last-16 match to defeat three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen 4-1 in a thriller between two legends of the sport at the PDC World Darts Championship.

Anderson started with a bang, taking out 101 on double 16. After van Gerwen levelled, the Flying Scotsman’s doubling took a turn for the worse after six sloppy efforts allowed the Dutchman to break. A missed dart at the bull for a show-stopping 125 checkout proved to be costly. Anderson won the next two legs and went a set up.

Similar to the first set, the second went to a last-leg decider. Anderson had pinned double 12 in the previous leg and fell back on the double which secured his two world titles in superb fashion. He doubled his lead and moved into a fantastic position.

The Scot came out and held with a clean 67 checkout, but van Gerwen stepped on the afterburners. He held with a 10-darter before breaking the throw on double 12. He wrapped up the set with another very good leg, holding in 14 darts to get a step into this tie.

The Green Machine should have made it four legs on the bounce, but five missed doubles allowed Anderson to return to break. The two-time world champion then missed three of his own to move within one of the set, as van Gerwen made no mistake on the outer ring. Anderson’s scoring was better in the last two legs of the set, but that could have been in vein if van Gerwen managed to navigate the bull for a stunning 164 checkout. Anderson went ahead once more before holding in 15-darts to move within one of the quarter-finals.

A clutch dart on double 10 from van Gerwen levels up the set. A period of missed doubles saw the match balance on the fence. Anderson missed twice before van Gerwen slipped up himself. Anderson continued to miss at double four before three wayward efforts in the madhouse allowed Anderson to return, and he made no mistake at that target. He fends off a legend in a high quality thriller, and will make a return to the quarter-final stage for the first time since 2022 as he comes up against Justin Hood.

Luke Humphries is a man on a mission to regain his title. After losing at this point last year, he made no error as he defeated Kevin Doets 4-1 while averaging

The pair of them both raced out of the blocks. Three consecutive breaks kicked off the first set. Doets teased the crowd with six perfect darts and took out 88 on the bull with Humphries breathing down his neck. He clinched the first hold of the match to take the first set. This is despite Humphries averaging over 110.

The pair could not continue at the level they were at, but Doets drop off was much larger than Humphries was. Cool Hand Luke averaged over a ton in set two as he started to show his class over his opponent. He took out 66 on tops to brings the match all square.

Missed darts on the bull cost Humphries winning the leg 3-0. It almost made him go 2-1 down, but thankfully for him Doets could not take out 120. He did not waste time in taking a set lead for the first time in the match. He followed it straight up with a break on tops after Hawkeye could not nail that intended target. He had all the time in the world on double 16 in the next leg before double 10 was utilised to move him a set away. He averaged over 107 for that set.

Humphries made it seven consecutive legs as he moved within one of the match with a fantastic 118 checkout. He ended on double eight to complete an utterly dominant performance.

Gian van Veen kept his title ambitions alive after defeating Charlie Manby 4-1. The two players have entertained each other on the Development Tour, but this was a completely different scenario. Van Veen started the brighter, holding in 14-darts before a miscount from Manby was not punished. He backed this with a break of the Dutchman’s throw, but van Veen took the reigns straight back. After Manby missed a dart for the set, he took out 84 on double 11 before an 11-darter wrapped up the set.

A 107 checkout on double 16 was a positive start to the second set for Manby, which was followed with a 116 from van Veen. He almost added a 120 to the collection of ton+ finishes but missed tops before three more darts were squandered to break. Manby got away with one before the 20-year-old takes out 64 in two to level up proceedings.

Van Veen’s scoring was allowing him to regularly storm ahead of Manby. Two 13-darters saw him take a very positive lead. After Manby broke back, van Veen was not prepared to let him back in it. He took out a scintillating 132 on the bull to clinch the set. After breaking once more, van Veen leaves 16 after nine but has to settle for a 16-darter after a plethora of missed doubles. He was much more clinical on the bull, where he won a fourth leg in a row and moved within one of the last-eight.

Before this tournament, van Veen had never even won a match at Ally Pally. He won the next two legs with a 13 and 14 darter to move within one leg of a maiden Ally Pally quarter-final. Manby took out 80 in two to keep his hopes alive but in the end he was no match for the brilliant van Veen. He will reignite his rivalry with Humphires in the quarter-finals on New Year's Day.