Luke Littler moved within two games of a maiden PDC World Darts Championship title after the 17-year-old outclassed Nathan Aspinall at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday.
The 5-2 quarterfinal win guaranteed the teenager £100,000 in prize money and sees him reach the last four for a second consecutive year after he fell agonisingly short of glory in last year's final.
Littler raced into an early lead, opening up with two 12-dart legs and taking the first set before Aspinall had thrown a dart at a double.
After effortlessly winning the first set, Littler claimed the second with an unconventional bullseye, three, double six finish.
Littler's excellence masked the fact that Aspinall was averaging just under 100 in the match and "The Asp" gave himself a lifeline by winning the third set as the teenager began to struggle on the outer ring.
The contest brought the best out of both players as first Aspinall, then Littler, fell narrowly short of hitting nine darters in the opening leg of the fourth set. Littler righted his issues with the doubles at the vital time, breaking his opponent's throw with a clutch 11-dart leg to restore some breathing space in the match.
An 11th 180 of the match for Littler moved him clear of Callan Rydz as the player with the most maximums in the tournament and he quickly moved within a set of victory with an 81 checkout.
Aspinall continued to make life difficult for the Premier League champion as brought the score to 4-2. But Littler took control of what proved to be a deciding seventh set with a 101 finish -- his third ton-plus out of the night -- and booked his place in the final four after finding the bed of double 20 with Aspinall stranded on 158.
"I think we both played very well there but I'm so glad to win," Littler told Sky Sports. "The crowd were chanting for Nathan -- they wanted a comeback, but I had to finish it.
"I wouldn't say it's hard to focus. When we each won a set, we gave a fist bump but once we hear 'game on,' that's when it's game on. Afterwards we'll be fine."
Littler will face Stephen Bunting in the semifinals after "The Bullet" put on an impressive display to beat Peter Wright 5-2 earlier on Tuesday.
Asked about the prospect of facing Bunting and his vocal supporters, Littler said: "The fans have been good for me tonight, they were also good for Stephen and they can take their pick for who they want to support tomorrow. I can see quite a few Nuke shirts in here so I might have the better [support].
"You play, go to sleep, wake up and you play again. I don't really like having days off because I don't practice. I know I'll be back on tomorrow and I'll be up for it again."
Bunting, whose win moved him into the top five in the world rankings, gave Wright few opportunities to work his way into their quarterfinal contest in north London.
After Wright's walk-on song -- "Don't Stop the Party" by Pitbull -- and Bunting's -- "Titanium" by David Guetta featuring Sia -- whipped the crowd into a frenzy at the start of the evening session, it was Bunting who took the first set after hitting three from three on the doubles.
Bunting cruised into a 4-0 lead, producing a masterful display in which he averaged just under 100 and took out an eye-catching 143 that keep Wright at arm's length in the third set. It felt notable that the 39-year-old No. 8 seed felt comfortable enough in his own game to interact with the crowd from behind the oche.
With the match slipping through his fingers, Wright threatened a miraculous comeback as he showed the sort of form that saw him knock out defending champion Luke Humphries in the fourth round.
The two-time champion whitewashed Bunting to get himself on the board before halving the deficit with a 133 checkout via a double-double on the 19s.
But Bunting redoubled his efforts after his momentary wobble and clinched the 5-2 victory to secure his progress into the final four for the second time in his career.
"In the back room I felt really nervous, on edge. Peter Wright is a massive fans' favourite, a great mate of mine and he's my son's favourite player so I feel sorry for my son," Bunting told Sky Sports.
"I'm so pleased to get over the line. For the first four sets the fans were unreal -- but you must do better!
"I knew I was in control of the game but Peter was coming back into it. I just thought to myself, don't let myself down, refocus like I've done. Each and every game I've focused on that one opponent."
Earlier on Wednesday, Michael van Gerwen set up a meeting with Chris Dobey on the other side of the draw after both players pulled off dramatic victories in their respective quarterfinal matches.
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