World number one Luke Littler produced a nine-dart finish to open his second-round match at the World Matchplay in Blackpool, en route to an 11-8 victory over fellow Englishman Nathan Aspinall. The win sends the defending champion into the quarter-finals, where he continues his bid to retain the title, and underlines his current dominance of the sport as the tournament's top seed.

Littler's perfect opening leg finished on double 15, and he narrowly missed a second nine-darter moments later. Aspinall fought back to level at 7-7 before Littler pulled away again, eventually sealing victory with a tournament-best-in-decades average of 113.68 and 14 maximums. Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen was knocked out 14-12 by Dirk van Duijvenbode, while Gary Anderson beat Jonny Clayton 11-7 to reach the last eight. Littler will next face the winner of Josh Rock versus Stephen Bunting.