Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price booked their places in the quarter-finals of the 2019/20 William Hill World Darts Championship at London's Alexandra Palace on Saturday as two-time winner Adrian Lewis exited the event.
Day 13 of darts' biggest event saw the final six ties from the last 16 take place, with Wright and Price among the players to ensure spots in Sunday's quarter-finals.
Former runner-up Wright came through a tense tie-break to defeat Jeffrey de Zwaan 4-3, having surrendered a 3-0 lead in sets to the Dutchman.
Wright got off to a flying start, landing a 149 finish on his way to taking the first three sets, including a dominant run of six successive legs to go within a touching distance of the quarter-finals.
Finishes of 130 and 76 followed from the Scottish World Cup winner, who looked to have taken an unassailable position at 3-0 up in sets and 2-0 up in the fourth.
However, De Zwaan recovered from the brink of defeat by winning three legs in a row to get his first set on the board, and then turned the game on its head by winning the next two sets to level at 3-3.
An epic contest went all the way to a tie-break, before the seventh leg of the decider saw Wright land a 180 on his way to a crucial break of throw which he followed up with a hold to seal his place in the last eight, where Luke Humphries awaits.
"I just ran out of energy, I was feeling really bad up there after the first three sets," admitted Wright, who will make his fifth World Championship quarter-final appearance on Sunday.
"The good thing is that games under pressure like this can help lift your level to where it needs to be for the rest of the tournament.
"I was waiting for Jeffrey to start playing, I knew he would but I didn't want him to!
"Luke is another quality player, I played against him many years ago and he was scarily good then so it's no surprise to me to see how well he's progressed."
World Youth Champion Humphries reached the quarter-finals for a second successive year after a dominant display saw him complete a 4-1 victory against Kim Huybrechts.
Humphries hit ten 180s in an entertaining encounter which turned in his favour in the deciding leg of set three when his Belgian opponent declined a dart at the bullseye for an 83 checkout and he took full advantage with a 146 finish.
Huybrechts had snatched the first set after Humphries missed three darts at double top but the 24-year-old won nine of the last ten legs to seal a comprehensive win.
World number three Price made it through to the quarter-finals for the first time as he overcame Simon Whitlock 4-2 despite not being at his brilliant best.
After Australian number one Whitlock missed four darts to win the opening set, Price pounced and then landed finishes of 108 and 72 on his way to doubling the advantage.
A typically resilient Whitlock fought back to take two of the next three sets, only for Price to hit crucial finishes of 112 and 72 to set up a meeting with Glen Durrant.
"I think that was probably the worst I played for a long time," Price admitted. "Simon missed a lot of doubles and so did I, but someone had to win it and thankfully it was me.
"I tried my hardest but sometimes when you try too hard it never happens.
"I played fantastic against John Henderson but this game was just one I was glad to get out of the way. I'm sure Glen and myself will have a decent game tomorrow."
Three-time Lakeside Championship winner Durrant continued his dream Alexandra Palace debut with a hard-fought 4-3 win over local rival Chris Dobey.
A nip-and-tuck affair saw Dobey claim the opening set, only for the Northumbrian to concede two-leg leads in the next two sets as Durrant's set-play experience came to the fore.
A 109 finish saw Durrant extend his lead to 3-1 in sets, only for a determined Dobey to win six of the next eight legs to take the contest to a decider.
Durrant outscored Dobey in the final set, not allowing his opponent a dart before crowning victory with a 146 finish.
Two-time World Youth Champion Dimitri Van den Bergh progressed to the quarter-finals after twice coming from two sets behind to beat Lewis 4-3 in a thrilling encounter.
Lewis took out a 123 checkout in the opening leg on the way to claiming each of the first two sets by three legs to one.
Van den Bergh took set three by the same margin but Lewis edged the fourth 3-2 with the aid of a 113 finish to open up a 3-1 lead.
Two-time World Champion Lewis added a third ton-plus checkout with a 136 in set five but it proved to be in vain as Van den Bergh won the set 3-1 to ignite his fightback.
Finishes of 98 and 76 helped the Belgian take the sixth set to force a decider, which he won 3-1 to reach the last eight, where he will face 2019 UK Open Champion Nathan Aspinall.
Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen will face Darius Labanauskas after the Lithuanian reached the quarter-finals for the first time after defeating Steve Beaton in the opening match of the day.
Labanauskas took out 114 to edge the opening set 3-2 but Beaton hit back by winning the second in a decider with a brilliant bullseye finish of 86.
The next two sets were shared before Lithuanian thrower Labanauskas went on to seal a 4-2 victory by winning six of the last of seven legs.
The William Hill World Darts Championship continues on Sunday December 29, with four quarter-final ties taking place across two sessions of action.
Aspinall will face Van den Bergh in the opening game of the day, before Humphries and Wright clash.
Van Gerwen will continue his title defence against Labanauskas at the start of the evening session, while Durrant and Price will play off for the last semi-final spot.
Day 14 will be broadcast live on the Sky Sports Darts channel and through NOW TV in the UK, on PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7.
William Hill World Darts Championship
Saturday December 28
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Fourth Round
Darius Labanauskas 4-2 Steve Beaton
Luke Humphries 4-1 Kim Huybrechts
Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-3 Adrian Lewis
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x Fourth Round
Peter Wright 4-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Glen Durrant 4-3 Chris Dobey
Gerwyn Price 4-2 Simon Whitlock
Sunday December 29
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Nathan Aspinall v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Luke Humphries v Peter Wright
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Michael van Gerwen v Darius Labanauskas
Glen Durrant v Gerwyn Price