MICHAEL VAN GERWEN moved into the last 16 of the William Hill World Darts Championship with a 4-1 victory over Max Hopp at Alexandra Palace.
World number one Van Gerwen cruised through the first three sets but Hopp troubled him for a period before he closed out the win.
Van Gerwen opened with one of six 180s as he claimed the first set 3-0 with two 13 darters and 14 dart leg.
The Dutchman took the following set 3-1 before hitting a 170 checkout for the fifth consecutive year at Ally Pally to win the third set 3-0.
Hopp then won three straight legs, capping off the set four with a superb 148 checkout to win.
The German number one went 2-0 up in the fifth set but Van Gerwen rediscovered his accuracy to win three legs in a row to seal the triumph.
Averages:
Van Gerwen - 101.51
Hopp - 96.68
180s:
Van Gerwen - 6
Hopp - 4
Highest Finish:
Van Gerwen - 170
Hopp - 148
100+ Checkouts:
Van Gerwen - 2
Hopp - 1
Finishing:
Van Gerwen - 12/34
Hopp - 6/16
Images: Lawrence Lustig/PDC