Littler cruises into Matchplay semis with win over Rock

Littler cruises into Matchplay semis with win over RockImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Luke Littler beat Niko Springer and Nathan Aspinall to set up the quarter-final against Josh RockByFlora SnelsonBBC Sport journalistPublished7 minutes agoLuke Littler’s World Matchplay title defence continued with a straightforward 16-7 quarter-final win over Josh Rock in Blackpool.Rock initially kept pace with the world number one as the players traded breaks to reach 5-5.But after 19-year-old Littler reeled off five legs in a row, there proved to be no way back for Rock as the defending champion, in dazzling form, cruised into the semi-finals.After throwing 17 180s with a scoring average of 109.57, Littler reported: “At the minute, everything’s going to plan.”The teenager added: “I feel good. I can afford to miss a few doubles because the scoring’s there.”Once again another brilliant performance, but fair play to Josh, he put up a good fight.”Littler will play unseeded Dirk van Duijvenbode of the Netherlands in Saturday’s semi-final.Earlier on Thursday evening, tournament outsider Van Duijvenbode survived a late surge by Gary Anderson to reach his first Matchplay semi-final.Anderson, the 2018 World Matchplay champion, threatened to close an eight-leg deficit with a fine late display including a 154 checkout, but Van Duijvenbode held on for a 16-13 win.Reflecting on his second-round tie-break win over Michael van Gerwen, Van Duijvenbode had reported that shaking “like a little child crying for his mum” allowed his compatriot back into match after leading 8-4.After leading 8-4 again on Thursday, Van Duijvenbode dropped two consecutive legs but then stormed into a 14-6 lead by winning the next six without reply.However, it would be a further nine legs until Van Duijvenbode won the tie as a resurgent Anderson pushed him hard.World Matchplay Darts 2026 – Schedule, draw and prize money