Luke Littler and Gary Anderson will go head-to-head in a mouth-watering semi-final at the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts, after overcoming Dutch duo Jermaine Wattimena and Gian van Veen on Saturday evening.
The penultimate day of the prestigious nine-day event saw the quarter-final action conclude in Wolverhampton, as Littler and Anderson joined Mickey Mansell and Martin Lukeman in the final four.
Littler produced a record-breaking display to demolish Wattimena 16-12, while Anderson defeated high-flying Van Veen 16-14 to progress to a seventh Grand Slam semi-final.
However, Littler stole the headlines after inflicting the heaviest quarter-final defeat in the tournament’s history, dispatching a shell-shocked Wattimena in just 28 minutes and 48 seconds of play.
The 17-year-old made a lightning start to proceedings, missing double 12 for a nine-darter in leg two – having missed the same target for a perfect leg in his group stage clash against Lourence Ilagan.
Littler landed seven 180s in the opening five legs to establish a commanding 4-1 lead, and he extended his cushion to 8-2 with magnificent 104, 164 and 167 finishes in a brutal five-leg spell.
Wattimena simply had no answer to Littler’s relentless barrage, and the Warrington wonderkid capped off a darting masterclass with an effortless 110 kill – his fourth ton-plus checkout of the contest.
“I was more focused than ever tonight,” declared Littler, who won 11 straight legs to triumph with a 105 average and a 62% checkout success rate.
“I know Jermaine is playing probably the best darts of his life as well, but I settled really quickly.
“I felt like nobody could touch me tonight. I played so well and I’m so happy to get the win.
“I’m looking forward to playing Gary on a big stage for the first time, and it should be a brilliant game.”
Littler’s reward is a first meeting with Anderson for a place in Sunday’s showpiece, after the two-time runner-up continued his pursuit of the Eric Bristow Trophy with a thrilling victory over Van Veen.
The Dutchman recovered from a sluggish start to move 4-2 ahead with a run of four straight legs, but Anderson returned the favour to seize the initiative at 6-4 – aided by a brace of 11-darters.
The Scottish icon then produced consecutive 85, 90 and 120 checkouts to move 9-5 ahead, although Van Veen responded with a three-leg blitz of his own to reduce the deficit to a solitary leg.
The 22-year-old came into the quarter-finals with a staggering tournament average of 108, and while he didn’t hit those heights against his darting idol, he preserved his hopes with 140, 96, 64 and 74 combinations in the latter stages.
Nevertheless, Van Veen was unable to make any inroads on the Anderson throw, and the two-time World Champion rounded off a classy display with a 13-dart hold in leg 30.
“That was tough, but I stuck in there,” said Anderson, who averaged 99 and converted 57% of his attempts at double to set up a pulsating encounter against Premier League champion Littler.
“Gian didn’t play as well as he has in the last few nights, and I got in the lead and managed to hold on.
"Now it's down to the youngest in the tournament against the oldest - fantastic!
“Luke was fantastic tonight, wasn’t he? Jermaine is playing well, but Luke was different gravy, so we're just going to have to see what happens."
The 2024 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts will reach its climax with a bumper double session on Sunday, as a new champion is crowned at WV Active Aldersley.
Sunday’s afternoon session will see Mansell and Lukeman collide, before Littler takes on Anderson in a blockbuster showdown.
The final will then get underway from 1930 GMT, as the remaining two players battle it out for the iconic Eric Bristow Trophy and the £150,000 top prize.
Click here for match stats & results.
2024 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts
Saturday November 16
2x Quarter-Finals
Luke Littler 16-2 Jermaine Wattimena
Gary Anderson 16-14 Gian van Veen
Sunday November 17
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Mickey Mansell v Martin Lukeman
Luke Littler v Gary Anderson
Evening Session (1930 GMT)
Final
Mansell/Lukeman v Littler/Anderson