World Darts Championship: Nathan Aspinall moves past Andrew Gilding into the final as Ryan Joyce also advances | Darts News


Nathan Aspinall cruised to a 4-0 victory over Andrew Gilding to reach the last 16 of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

It is the first time in five years that Aspinall has reached the third round and he will now face Ricardo Pietreczka in the last 16.

It wasn't the best start for either player in the final contest of the afternoon session on the 11th, but it was Aspinall who pounced, two breaks of throw giving him a poor first set.

The second set followed in the same vein as the first, Aspinall scoring 86 per cent in doubles as he took his chances at key moments. A crucial stoppage in the deciding part of the third set cemented the 'Asp's' 3-0 lead.

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Nathan Aspinall made his first 100+ checkout against Andrew Gilding as Asp's 101 checkout made it 3-0 against Goldfinger

With the finish in sight and knowing he only needed to hold his throw, Aspinall held his throw twice and then broke 'Goldfinger', rounding off a comprehensive victory at the top.

“I'm glad I could finish. I'm usually very bad at finishing, that's why I lose. Usually my score isn't there. The last two games I've played, I've finished really well, I haven't scored a great goal,” Aspinall said Sky Sports after his victory.

“Gildy didn't play very well there. I don't care about averages, I don't care about numbers. I'm in the final – England v Germany.

“I think the last six months have been very flat when I've been playing, and tonight I made a conscious effort to rekindle the fire in my belly, and I think you saw that from the start.

“Tonight I gave a little more emotion and that's for myself, to try to raise the adrenaline because I was very flat.

“It wasn't my best performance. I finished fantastic again but we have to get a result with that finish, I'll be hard to beat.”

World Darts Championship: Day 11, afternoon results

Ryan Joyce 4-3 Ryan Searle
Scott Williams 1-4 Ricardo Pietreczko
Nathan Aspinall 4-0 Andrew Gilding

In the opening game of the afternoon session, Ryan Joyce produced a sensational performance in the doubles to reach the fourth round after a thrilling 4-3 tie-break win over Ryan Searle.

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Ryan Joyce fought off a comeback from Ryan Searle as he won 4-3 to progress to the fourth round. Joyce also scored an impressive 113 checkouts and was tickled by Searle as he missed one 20 to leave the top, all in the final set

The game went by toss for the first nine legs, allowing Joyce to take the first set on his toss, and 'Relentless' then pounced in the decider of the second to break the toss and take a 2-0 lead.

However, Searle fought back to find two breaks of serve of his own to level the contest at 2-2, doubling his clinical scores to 50 per cent and averaging 114.24 in the third set to put him back in contention.

Joyce hit back though, winning five legs in a row, and with the match level at 3-3, a sensational 113 checkout in the seventh set tie-break gave the Geordie the advantage, slotting in his favorite D18 for the match.

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Ryan Searle fights back to stay alive in the sixth set as he checkouts a massive 124 against Ryan Joyce

Pietreczko showed his class as he secured a 4-1 victory over Scott Williams and entered the final for the first time in his career.

The atmosphere was tense inside Ally Pally for this clash, the German contingent of the crowd supporting the last remaining contender while the English fans rallied behind Williams.

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Ricardo Pietreczko fires a massive 129 checkout on the bull, then hits a brilliant 121 to win the match against Scott Williams in their World Darts Third Round clash

It was Pietreczko who got to the top early and held his serve for a 1-0 lead before breaking Williams on top to take a 2-0 lead, 'Shaggy' fought back in the third set and raced ahead to score from 3-1 and brought the contest to 2-1.

The 2024 semi-finalist brought himself into the match, but Pietreczko took set four, broke the roll and then nailed a 129 on the shot to sweep the set and go one up.

He then continued in the same vein and rounded off the win in brilliant style, taking a shot, T13 and D16 for 121 and the win.

what's next

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See every nine-dart shot in the PDC World Championship

The evening slot on Saturday, December 28, goes live from 7 p.m Sky Sports with Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Chris Dobey and Josh Rock in action.

Then there's another jam-packed double session, live, on Sunday 29th December at Alexander Palace Sky Sports.

The night is headlined by Luke Humphries v Peter Wright, while Jonny Clayton takes on Gerwyn Price and Ricky Evans v Robert Owen. You can follow these matches live from 19:00.

In the afternoon from 12.30, there is also Jeffrey de Graaf against Paolo Nebrida, Kevin Doets against Krzysztof Ratajski and Dimitri Van den Bergh against Callan Rydz.

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and other top sports with SADA.



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