Teenager Luke Littler beat his friend Nathan Aspinall 5-2 to set up a semi-final against Stephen Bunting in the PDC World Championship.
The 17-year-old, looking to go one better after finishing runner-up 12 months ago, dominated with an average of 101.54.
Littler is odds-on favourite for the title, but will meet formidable opposition in Bunting, who overcame two-time champion Peter Wright 5-2.
Thursday’s other semi-final will feature three-time winner Michael van Gerwen against Chris Dobey.
After some nervy moments in earlier matches, fourth seed Littler took charge early on as he grabbed the first set within four minutes with an average of 118.66.
World number 12 Aspinall, whose run to the last eight came after a year plagued by elbow and wrist injuries, tried to stay competitive but was overpowered by his fellow Englishman’s impressive scoring.
The teenager hit 15 180s as he stayed on track to be the youngest winner of the tournament – van Gerwen was aged 24 years and nine months when he won his first title in 2014.
Littler, who turns 18 later in January, is seeking to crown a remarkable 12 months after losing to Luke Humphries at the age of 16 in last year’s showpiece.
He won 10 titles in his debut year as a professional, earned more than £1m in prize money and picked up the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award.
Credit: bbc.co.uk
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