Luke Littler continued his World Matchplay title defence by beating Josh Rock 16-7 in the quarter-finals in Blackpool, reaching the semi-finals with another dominant performance. The win underlined the world number one’s strong form and set up a Saturday meeting with unseeded Dutch player Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Rock matched Littler at 5-5 before the 19-year-old won five consecutive legs and pulled clear, recording 17 maximum 180s and a 109.57 scoring average. Van Duijvenbode reached his first Matchplay semi-final by holding off Gary Anderson 16-13, having led 14-6 before the 2018 champion mounted a late comeback.