Michael van Gerwen cemented his status as favourite at the World Darts Championship as he hammered Stephen Bunting.
A thrilling fourth-round match was expected on Friday night, with Bunting one of the most impressive players at Alexandra Palace in his opening two match.
But the popular Liverpudlian could not get any rhythm going and it soon became apparent that Van Gerwen was in an unforgiving mood, as he advanced to the quarter-finals without dropping a set.
"We all knew Stephen Bunting was playing phenomenal darts," Van Gerwen said.
"You have to show your best game. I don't think I showed my best game but in patches I did the right things in the right moments.
"I am pleased with my game. We have still got a long time to go but I am feeling good."
The final match of the session was similarly brisk, as defending champion Michael Smith saw his hopes of going back-to-back end in disappointing fashion.
Smith averaged 102.47 but it was not enough to get close to Chris Dobey, who won 4-0 and further strengthened his hopes of lifting the Sid Waddell trophy for the first time.
Gary Anderson booked his place in the fourth round, as he recovered from dropping the opening set to ease to a 4-1 win over Boris Krcmar.
Earlier in the day, Raymond van Barneveld set up a mouthwatering clash with teenage sensation Luke Littler after fighting through to the last 16.
Van Barneveld was far from at his best but still beat Jim Williams 4-1 to secure a Saturday clash with 16-year-old Littler, who was born 21 days after the Dutchman won the most recent of his five world titles in 2007.
Van Barneveld told Sky Sports: "I will love to play Luke Littler. When I was 16 I was playing with Lego and Playmobile, we didn't have the internet or whatever.
"I don't play players, I play the board" 🎯
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 29, 2023
Raymond van Barneveld had nothing but praise for Luke Littler, but insists he 'isn't afraid" of facing the 16-year-old 👇 pic.twitter.com/ITo8r6uESi
"This guy is amazing, and I am looking forward so much to that game. He is a quality player and I can't wait to meet him tomorrow night."
Van Barneveld was not required to find top gear against Williams, a former BDO runner-up who finished with a higher average but managed to hit only seven of his 28 doubles.
Having nudged into a 3-1 lead and moved one leg from victory at 2-0, Van Barneveld missed five match darts and allowed the Welshman a glimmer of hope as he pulled back to level in the set.
But backed by the sizeable Ally Pally crowd, Van Barneveld nailed double eight for the match to book his place in the last 16 for the first time since 2018.
Littler, the world youth champion, is the youngest player to reach the last 16 after reeling off three impressive victories, including averaging over 106 in his first round win over Christian Kist.
