World number one Luke Littler threw a nine-darter on his way to an 11-8 victory over Nathan Aspinall and a spot in the World Matchplay quarterfinals. The match took place at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Littler began the contest with a perfect leg, finishing on double 15. The crowd erupted in cheers, and his opponent, Aspinall, offered a congratulatory high five. Later in the fourth leg, Littler narrowly missed a second nine-darter, with his final dart falling just outside the wire for double 15.
Aspinall managed to tie the match at 7-7, but Littler, the defending champion, then won three consecutive legs. Although Aspinall rallied, a missed attempt at tops in the 19th leg allowed Littler to secure the win with a checkout of 52. Littler finished the match with an average of 113.68, the second highest in the tournament's history, and hit 14 maximums (180s).
"The nine-darter just happened. These guys [the crowd] were booing me at the beginning and then they started cheering me on!" Littler told Sky Sports. "It felt amazing and that was probably the best game Nathan and I have played against each other – it's never over against Nathan because he never gives up. That's two unbelievable performances from myself here. Hopefully I can pick up the title again, but I just have to focus on who I play next."
Littler is set to face Josh Rock in the quarterfinals. Rock advanced after defeating Stephen Bunting 11-6. The two players met in the semi-finals of last year's Matchplay.
In other tournament action, Michael van Gerwen's run ended with a 14-12 loss to Dirk van Duijvenbode. Van Gerwen had come back from an 8-4 deficit to level the match at 10-10, but Van Duijvenbode closed out the win. Scotland's Gary Anderson also advanced to the last eight with an 11-7 victory over Jonny Clayton.