Luke Littler next up for Rob Cross after sensational comeback to reach world darts semi-finals

The world number eight from St Leonards recovered from four sets to nil down to beat 17th-ranked Chris Dobey 5-4 in an extraordinary quarter-final on Monday afternoon.

Cross will go on to face 16-year-old wonderkid Littler in the last four on Tuesday night for the right to play Luke Humphries or Scott Williams in Wednesday night's fnal.

Cross said on X (formerly Twitter): “Wow. What a match. Obviously delighted to be through. I never give up and I believe in my own game. Chris is a fantastic player and he will come back stronger. On to the next one!”

He said: "I really can't put it into words. Realistically, at 4-0 down I thought it was over, which is unusual for me.

"I'm never beaten, whoever I play in the world. I never go away. As I got closer to Chris, I thought 'this is on' because I knew my best was still to come in the match.

"I will have to improve and settle quicker to win the tournament, but I believe I can win it."

Cross lost the opening set 3-1 and second 3-2, and then didn't win a leg in the next two as an on-song Dobey moved within a set of victory, aided by a 161 checkout in set four.

But the 2018 world champion began his stunning turnaround by taking six of the next eight legs and then survived a match dart to narrow his deficit to 4-3.

Cross, who lost to Dobey in the last 16 of last year's World Championship and the final of the Masters a month later, went on to claim the eighth set 3-1 and take the contest to an improbable deciding set.

The 33-year-old pulled off superb outshots of 117 and 130 to claim the first two legs of the final set, and although Dobey rallied with the next two, Cross held his nerve to clinch it 5-3 with a 70 finish in the concluding leg.

Cross, nicknamed Voltage, ended the match with an average of 100.70 having hit 10 180s (seven fewer than Dobey) and 57% of his attempts at a double.

It's the first time he has gone beyond the last 16 in darts' blue riband event, which is televised live on Sky Sports, since his stunning triumph on his debut appearance at London's Alexandra Palace six years ago.

Cross, runner-up to Humphries at the Grand Slam of Darts in November, beat Jonny Clayton (4-0), Jeffrey de Graaf (4-2) and Thibault Tricole (3-0) in the previous three rounds.

Littler stormed through to the PDC World Darts Championship semi-finals with a 5-1 victory over Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan. The 16-year-old followed up his 4-1 win over Raymond van Barneveld with another dazzling display at Alexandra Palace.

Littler, the youngest player to win a match at the World Championship, has dropped only four sets all tournament.

He told Sky Sports. "Now I’m dreaming. I'm two games away. I'm definitely thinking about lifting the title. If I keep it up I've got a good chance.

"Rob Cross won it on debut as well. I am looking forward to playing him in the semis."