Luke Humphries beat Kevin Doets to set up a World Darts Championship quarter-final showdown with Gian van Veen, while Gary Anderson beat Michael van Gerwen at Alexandra Palace.

Humphreys fought back from a set down to beat Dots 4-1, averaging 103.07 points and posting eight top points in his pursuit of a second world title in three years.

The world number two will next face another Dutchman, Van Veen, who ended Charlie “Champagne” Manby’s impressive World Championship debut with a 4-1 victory, while Anderson also beat van Gerwen by the same scoreline to reach the quarter-finals.

The two former champions exchanged 19 180 points in a riveting match, with both averaging close to 100, with Anderson leading throughout and going on to face England’s Justin Hood in the quarter-finals.

Hood hit 11 consecutive doubles without missing a beat and was the star of the afternoon, defeating Josh Locke 4-0, Krzysztof Lataski beating Luke Woodhouse 4-2, and Jonny Clayton beating Andreas Harrison by the same margin to also advance to the quarterfinals.

Humphreys performs well and reaches quarterfinals

Dots threatened another high-profile scalp after beating Nathan Aspinall in the previous round and breaking Humphries twice in the opening set – including a bull’s-eye 88.

Humphreys quickly came back to win, ending the second set with 66 points, then won the third set with 13 darts to stay ahead and then advance to the next game in consecutive games.

“Cool Hands” continued to push forward and, after holding firm on 14 darts, finished with a double 19 of 118, the highest score of the match, breaking Dots again and Humphreys capping off the victory with an eighth consecutive leg victory.

“I feel really good,” Humphries Tell Sky Sports. “It was a good performance for me. I told myself I wasn’t going to create unnecessary drama. I felt like I played well, but I feel like I have another level that’s important.

“You need to get to another level because that’s not going to win you the World Championship. Gian (van Veen) will be a tough match and it will be a good darts match. It’s one of those matches where I have to bring something more to the table to beat him.”

Van Gerwen dumped by Anderson

Anderson has played down his hopes of challenging for a first world title since successfully defending his title in 2016, despite reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in four years.

The flying Scot opened with 101 and survived a dart from van Gerwen to take the opening set and soon doubled his lead before the Dutchman needed just 37 darts to win three consecutive games and win the third set.

Anderson restored his two-set cushion and secured victory via a scrappy 20-dart leg, with Van Gerwen wasting darts to hold on and extend the contest, allowing the Scot to end a famous victory on D8.

“I think I’m rotten and so is Michael (van Gerwen)!” Anderson Tell Sky Sports. “I know Michael misses some doubles here and there, but not that many. We took our chances at the end and are happy to advance.

“I’ve never felt wrong since I got on stage tonight, and I don’t think Michael feels right either. I try to feed off him and vice versa.”

Van Veen versus Humphries

World junior champion Van Veen insists he “felt out of control” during his convincing win over Manby, despite posting nine top-scoring performances in another impressive campaign to average over 98 points.

Van Veen survived a serve break to break Manby with 84 points and win the first set in the decider, with both players trading plenty of serve for the rest of the game until the Englishman leveled the match.

The momentum was back in Van Veen’s direction when he hit the bullseye with a 132 and ended the third set with a straight leg, and he then won the next two sets to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.

“It looks like I feel like I have no control,” van Veen insisted to Sky Sports. “The scores were a little up and down but some really good finishes got me through again.

“When I was up 3-1, I knew it. I felt really good. I tripped a little bit in the last set. The 180 landed the way I wanted – I felt a lot more comfortable today than I had the other day.”

What to do next?

The tournament has a day off before returning to the quarterfinals on New Year’s Day, where Clayton will face Ryan Sale (the only player not to drop a set in this tournament), and then Anderson will face Hood.

Humphries vs. Van Veen headlines the night, as Luke Littler continues his pursuit of back-to-back world titles against Lataski.

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Until January 3, you can watch every match live exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky Channel 407). Live stream darts and more top sports with NOW.