Luke Littler overcame a scare from Ryan Joyce to enter the quarterfinals of the World Darts Championship on Monday with a 4-3 win.
The unseeded Joyce lost the first, third and fifth sets but remained resolute enough to force a deciding set. However, Littler found his gear in the seventh set, winning it 3-1 at an average of 111.
The 17-year-old finished with a strong 103.14 average but an accuracy rate of 35.4% will concern him.
"Honestly, I think I went into 10th gear at one point, I had to. I said to Ryan, he hit everything at me!" Litter told Sky Sports.
"I wouldn't say I was nervous, it was more adrenaline. I knew in that last leg, 'just hold your own for once in the game at least.'"
Littler will face 12th seed Nathan Aspinall in the quarterfinal on Jan. 1. Aspinall booked his spot in the final-eight with a dominant 4-0 win over German Ricardo Pietreczko.
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