World champion Luke Littler beat Nathan Aspinall in a dramatic finale to reach the last eight of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. Littler, 19, trailed 9-8 in a best-of-19 contest and held throw in the 18th leg to force a decider. Starting the leg with his seventh 180, he checked out 58 for a match-clinching 12-darter. The two Englishmen had been involved in a World Matchplay classic in July, when Littler threw a nine-darter in the opening leg of an 11-8 victory.

"The pace of the game suits us both, we're good friends and we bring the best out of each other," said Littler, who has a chance to complete a clean sweep of the PDC's premier events in 2026.

The world number one will meet former Premier League champion Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals. Clayton beat Japan's Motomu Sakai 10-8 and is one of two Welshmen in the last eight, with Gerwyn Price also progressing courtesy of a 10-5 win against Canada's Jim Long. England's James Wade was the other winner in Saturday's evening session, defeating Wessel Nijman of the Netherlands, and will face Price next.