Normal service resumed for Luke Littler.

His best leg of the match so far ends with him taking out 87 for an 11-darter.

The wait for a 180 goes on though...

Still no 180s for Luke Littler but that's about the only thing missing from this performance so far.

However, when he fails to take out 100, Nathan Aspinall is there waiting on 24 after a lovely 131 set-up.

The Asp hits at the second attempt and wins his first leg of the match.

A very decent wage, if you're at the top level.

Last year's world champion Luke Humphries and Luke Littler both won more than £1m in prize money last year, and will have earned more through sponsorship deals, merchandise and exhibitions.

Luke Littler's average in that first set? 118.66.

Yeah, I think he's up for this one.

Rod Studd
Commentator on Sky Sports

Luke Littler won the opening set with the minimum of fuss.

Blink-and-you'll-miss-it stuff from Luke Littler!

Double two wraps it up with a comfortable hold after he'd missed double 11 for a third 12-darter in the set.

Nathan Aspinall had a look at 164 but the way Littler has started, it needed to go if he were to stand a chance.

An early break for Luke Littler - he isn't messing around tonight.

Another 12-darter, this one finished on double six.

His doubling has been questioned but he's two of three to start this match.

Not a bad start for Luke Littler then!

Just a 12-dart hold sealed with a confident 105 out.

Bullseye, 15, tops. Once he got the bull, the rest was never in doubt.

Laura Turner
Ex-Women's World Championship quarter-finalist on Sky Sports

Luke Littler will be confident going into the match. He has been tested slightly more than Aspinall. Luke must have had a weight of pressure coming into his first game but now he's in touching distance of the semi-final.

Just over a year ago, he was barely a household name in his own home. Now he is a sporting phenomenon.

After emerging from obscurity aged 16 to reach the 2024 World Championship final, the life of Luke Littler and the sport he loves has been transformed. Viewing figures, ticket sales and social media interest have rocketed. Darts has hit the bullseye.

At Christmas more than 100,000 children were expected to be opening Littler-branded magnetic dartboards as presents.

His impact has helped double the number of junior academies, prompted plans to expand the World Championship and generated interest in darts from Saudi Arabian backers.

• How Luke Littler's rise boosted darts

Luke Littler had the best tournament average going into the quarter-finals - he was the only one of the last eight to top 100 overall for this year's competition.

But he has not been so hot on the doubles, and is well behind Nathan Apinall's 47% checkout success/

Luke Littler might be favourite to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy on Friday but Nathan Aspinall has held the title for biggest crowd reaction to walk-on for some time now.

Mr Brightside never fails to get the darts fans going and tonight is no different, The Asp is out there singing along and conducting the fans at the top of the stage.

That is until it cuts out and Littler's walk-on begins. Boos for the 17-year-old before singing Greenlight takes over...

R2:

R3: 4-1 v Ian White

R4: 4-3 v Ryan Joyce

180s: 36

Ton-plus checkouts: 2

Image source, Getty Images

R2: 3-1 v Leonard Gates

R3: 4-0 v Andrew Gilding

R4: 4-0 v Ricardo Pietreczko

180s: 15

Ton-plus checkouts: 3

Luke Littler was pushed all the way in the last round, where he was taken to a deciding set by Ryan Joyce.

The 17-year-old averaged a very impressive 103.14 but missed 31 darts at double as his resilience was tested to the fullest.

The suggestion is Littler has not been at his best so far in the tournament, which is undoubtedly true, but he still boasted the highest average of any player - 100.88 - going into the quarters.

As for Aspinall, it has been plain sailing for him so far at Ally Pally.

After a tough year, he has breezed into the quarter-finals while dropping only one set.

In fact, he lost only two legs in his 4-0 demolition of a hugely under-par Ricardo Pietreczko in the last 16.

He can expect a very different match against Littler.

Luke Littler went into last year's world championship ranked 164 in the world.

He is now world number four and set to go higher. The teenager will rise to two in the two-year Order of Merit if he wins the tournament.

Right then, it's almost time for tonight's headline act.

It's Luke Littler up against his big mate Nathan Aspinall.

The teenager has just been speaking about how he spent his New Year's Ever.

He went out for a Chinese meal with his parents before getting an early night, if you're interested.

Peter Wright put up a fight and got his average up to 92.41 after a slow start, while Stephen Bunting's 95.55 was enough in the end.

It's 11 years since Bunting won the BDO world title. He's now two games away from adding a PDC crown...

Stephen Bunting, speaking to Sky Sports: "In the back room I felt really nervous, on edge. Peter Wright is a massive fans' favourite, a great mate of mine and he's my son's favourite player so I feel sorry for my son.

"I'm so pleased to get over the line. For the first four sets the fans were unreal - but you must do better!

"I knew I was in control of the game but Peter was coming back into it. I just thought to myself, don't let myself down, refocus like I've done. Each and every game I've focused on that one opponent.

"I had a feeling that Peter was going to go off slightly and I was lucky that he did.

"Massive credit goes to Luke [Humphries]. He took his time out to practice with me, it was a plan we made three or four months ago and it's paying dividends for me.

"Pitting my wits against the best player in the world really has helped, even if it didn't show in the second half of that game - I was so nervous. I can look forward to the rest of the tournament now.

"That's the nervy one out of the way.

"Unbelievable, world number five, wow. We just keep going. It's quite emotional, I've worked really hard behind the scenes... I'm not going to cry."

Stephen Bunting jokes that the crowd can give him even more support before leading them in a rendition of "Let's go Bunting mental."

What a man!

Image source, PA Media