The big names safely navigated Friday night’s fourth round at the UK Open, with reigning world champion Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen all progressing in Minehead.

Van Gerwen closed the evening’s action at Butlin's Minehead Resort with a 10-8 victory over Nathan Aspinall, recovering after a brief late scare to seal his place in the last 32.

Earlier in the night, Littler and Humphries both produced dominant performances, while a nine-darter from Danny Noppert and a crushing win for Wessel Nijman were among the standout moments of a typically chaotic UK Open session.

The final match of the evening saw Van Gerwen eventually overcome Aspinall 10-8 in a high-quality encounter.

The Dutchman looked to have the match under control when he moved 9-6 ahead, but Aspinall showed his trademark resilience to claw back into the contest. After holding throw in the 16th leg, Aspinall punished three missed match darts from Van Gerwen to reduce the deficit to 9-8 and briefly threaten a dramatic comeback.

Van Gerwen quickly regained his composure though, sealing victory in the following leg to progress with a 101.89 average.

Fresh from his victory on Night Five of the Premier League Darts in Cardiff the previous evening, Littler continued his strong run of form with a commanding 10-3 win over Damon Heta.

The world champion produced a number of eye-catching moments during the contest, including a superb 170 checkout.

Humphries was equally impressive in dispatching Luke Woodhouse by the same 10-3 scoreline, averaging 105.16 and sealing the match with a 116 finish.

One of the highlights of the evening came from Noppert, who struck perfection during his 10-4 victory over Dimitri Van den Bergh.

The former UK Open champion’s nine-darter provided one of the biggest moments of the round and capped an impressive display.

Another eye-catching performance came from Nijman, who delivered a dominant display to defeat fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld 10-1 while averaging 102.39.

While the result itself was not a major surprise given the current trajectories of the two players, the margin of victory underlined the level Nijman can reach when his scoring power clicks.

Elsewhere, several other big names safely progressed into the last 32.

Gerwyn Price defeated Greg Ritchie 10-3, while Jonny Clayton eased past Alexander Merkx 10-2.

Rob Cross won a high-quality contest against Gian van Veen 10-7, with both players averaging above 100.

There were also victories for Gary Anderson, Peter Wright, James Wade and Dave Chisnall as the field for the last 32 began to take shape.