Luke Littler surged into the quarter-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship with a thrilling 4–2 win over Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace on Monday night, weathering a mid-match revival from the former world champion before finishing with astonishing scoring power.

Cross had the advantage of throwing first, though both players opened tentatively. Missed doubles defined the early stages, with Cross unable to convert on double 18 and Littler narrowly missing tops when attempting a 115 checkout.

Littler made the decisive move by capitalising on Cross’s struggles on the outer ring, nailing tops to break throw before holding despite continued doubling issues on both sides. Even after leaving finishes of 170 and 164 in back-to-back legs, Littler remained calm, sealing the set with a tidy 70 checkout on tops. He averaged close to 100 for the set, while Cross struggled to keep pace.

That proved to be the first major momentum shift of the match. Cross responded by rediscovering his scoring touch, firing in his first maximum and producing a sharp 109 finish on double 16 to break. Littler’s scoring briefly dipped, with his first leg without a treble, and although he answered back with a maximum of his own, Cross held firm on double 10 to edge into a 2–0 lead.