Darts results: Gerwyn Price hit nine-darter in defeat to Michael Smith as Peter Wright wins an epic

There had never been more than two perfect legs in one major tournament but the Iceman's first ever on TV was the third of this year's edition to emulate the efforts of Willie Borland and Darius Labanauskas before Christmas.

The crowd-pleasing moment arrived in the second leg of the fourth set but an unfazed Smith promptly bounced back to win the next two legs and square the match at two apiece.

Bully Boy, who was involved in another classic against the player of the season Jonny Clayton in the previous round, showed tremendous character and quality throughout the encounter to keep pegging back the defending champion on all four occasions he went one set clear.

But at 2-2 in the eighth set, he had to survive two match darts from Price before pinning double eight - following his pressurising visit of 128 - to send the match into a decider.

The St Helens star punished Price again for spurning another attempt at tops to break in the opening leg and made the most of it with a splendid checkout of 126 in the next to take control amidst all the tension on the Ally Pally stage.

Smith missed double 12 for a match-winning 138 checkout but after the Welshman blew his attempt at tops for a skin-saving 110, the 2019 runner-up made no mistake in his next visit to reach the semi-finals for the second time in his career.

Smith averaged over 100 for the second time in his four matches so far with an impressive mark of 101.94 compared to Price's 99.57 while he hit 16 of the 22 180s in the match and four of the nine 100+ checkouts - although it was the latter who had the highest with 141.

Price's doubling was impressive at 44.4% (16/36) but Smith was even more clinical as he pinned 22 of his 43 attempts at a finish (22/43) so on this evidence he'll be a very warm favourite to see off James Wade in the last four.

Snakebite survives Rydz riot

Earlier, Peter Wright overcame a serious test of his World Championship credentials as he beat Callan Rydz 5-4 in a quarter-final epic.

Rydz has been one of the stars of the tournament and the 23-year-old produced the performance of his life to come within touching distance of a semi-final place, only for Wright to find the darts he needed to win in a deciding set.

Wright needed two goes at throwing for the match as Rydz refused to lie down, but the 2020 world champion made the most of his second opportunity as, at last, his young opponent ran out of steam.

Although Wright missed 40 doubles throughout the match, the fact that his average was just a shade below 100 and he threw 17 maximums serves to demonstrate how far he was pushed by Rydz, who produced five 100-plus finishes in a largely nerveless display.

The final leg of the match was probably his worst but that should be the only regret for a young player going places. For now though it's Wright who advances to face Gary Anderson on Sunday.

"I'm happy with the win, throughout the match at crucial times I've missed three darts at a double, to win legs or to win sets, which let Callan back in," said Wright. "What a game of darts. Wow."

"I was thinking 'he's letting me in', he'd hit two rubbish scores then bang in a 180. He's another Jonny Clayton."

As for the man who awaits in the last four, Wright added: "He's pretty handy, when he decides to be! I'm looking forward to it, I love the guy to bits, and hopefully the game is as good as that if not better."

Playing in the biggest match of his career, Rydz would've been forgiven for making a slow start. Instead, he took out 152 and raced through the first set, before starting the second with a 106 checkout against the throw.

Further breaks came courtesy of 106 and 105 finishes to put Rydz 2-0 up, before Wright took his turn as a 112 finish put him on course to halve the deficit.

Rydz broke midway through the fourth set with a 97 finish and held throw to restore his cushion at 3-1, only for Wright to take out 140 at the beginning of set five and again get back within one.

Set six ought to have been the turning point, Wright hitting 20, double 18, double 20 for a 96 checkout to win a deciding leg and restore parity for the first time since the match began. But Rydz, as he did all night, managed to claw his way back into the seventh set before finally pinning double one to win it, breathing a huge sigh of relief as the pair left the stage.

Rydz now was a set from the semi-finals, but Wright stepped up a gear with an 11-dart break of throw and won the eighth set in double-quick time, the only stanza of the entire match which saw either player whitewash the other.

The first real sign of nerves from Rydz came at the start of the deciding set when, needing 74 for a hold, he hit single one followed by single three and allowed Wright to step in and hit double 14 and earn a crucial break of throw.

When Wright hit bullseye to win the following leg, the game appeared to be up, but Rydz took out 80 under pressure to force his opponent to throw for it, then left himself 54 after nine darts and, despite needing several attempts, went on to break back.

Then came the decisive moment, as Rydz narrowly missed double 16 for a hold of throw and Wright stepped in to hit double nine with his third attempt. That was a sucker-punch, and this time Rydz couldn't recover as Wright held firm to at last end the contest.

Anderson gets the better of Humphries

Gary Anderson produced big darts at big moments to deny Luke Humphries his first World Championship semi-final appearance in a 5-2 win for the Scot.

In a classic illustration of the cruel nature of set play, Anderson won 16 legs to Humphries' 15 yet the scoreline suggests a dominant victory.

Humphries hit more 180s and checked out at a higher percentage, but Anderson won the deciding leg in all four sets that required one, often with a big finish despite missing chances early in the match.

The final leg was the match in microcosm, Humphries missing a dart for a 170 finish and then two more at double eight, allowing Anderson to steal in and pin tops with his final dart in hand.

"I played all right, missed a lot of doubles at the start but that's the way it goes," said Anderson, who hit four 100-plus checkouts in total. "I've got no expectations whatsoever, come up here to get beat. It's all right. I'm not at my best yet."

Referencing another boisterous crowd who booed him at times, Anderson added: "I remember walking on this stage many years ago and it wasn't like this! They've all got hangovers so they are allowed to get on my back."

Humphries is viewed by many as a world champion in waiting and can take pride in a third quarter-final appearance, but will surely feel some frustration that whenever a set when the distance, he could not close it out.

After winning the first set 3-0, he endured a quiet leg at just the wrong time as the second went all the way, and after hauling himself back to 2-2 he lost set five to a 110 finish from Anderson while waiting in the wings on eight.

Humphries then missed double 16 for what would've been a 112 finish at the end of the sixth set and, from 2-1 up, lost the seventh and the match when Anderson took out 108 to level and 80 to reach the last four.

Wade whitewashes The King

James Wade is through to his fourth World Championship semi-final after a ruthless 5-0 defeat of Mervyn King at Alexandra Palace.

Rarely does a whitewashed player top the averages but if anyone is to dish out such a beating it's likely to be Wade, and that's precisely what happened here: the left-hander managing a mere 86.5 yet easing into the last four.

King twice missed darts for the first set, again surrendered a 2-1 lead in the second, and from there all that remained was for Wade to keep him at arm's length. He did just that, a professional performance which won't scare anyone, but serves as a reminder of how good a match-winner he can be.

Wade is yet to reach a World Championship final but was competitive in all three previous semi-final defeats, so while he'll need to improve on this display, nobody would be surprised were he to do so when he returns to face either Gerwyn Price or Michael Smith on Sunday.

"It wasn't expected, I thought I had a real battle on hay hands with Mervyn," said Wade. "I was fortunate that Mervyn didn't play his game and I got away with a lot.

"Merv's beaten me so many times in a row prior to this but I've bashed him here and done a proper job on him. This is the first year I've had no chaos going on away from darts and I feel relaxed heading into the semis."

New Year's Day results and Sunday schedule

Saturday January 1
Afternoon Session (12.30pm GMT)
Quarter-finals (Best of 9 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• James Wade (86.5) 5-0 (86.67) Mervyn King
  (Set scores: 3-2, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1)
• Luke Humphries (94.92) 2-5 (96.32) Gary Anderson
  (Set scores: 3-0, 2-3, 1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 2-3, 2-3)

Evening Session (7pm GMT)
Quarter-finals (Best of 9 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• Peter Wright (99.75) 5-4 (97.8) Callan Rydz
  (Set scores: 0-3, 2-3, 3-1, 1-3, 3-1, 3-2, 1-3, 3-0, 4-2)
• Gerwyn Price (99.57) 4-5 (101.94) Michael Smith
  (Set scores: 3-2, 0-3, 3-2, 1-3, 3-1, 0-3, 3-2, 2-3, 1-3)

Sunday January 2
Evening Session (7pm GMT)
Semi-finals (Best of 11 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• (9) Michael Smith v James Wade (4)
• (2) Peter Wright v Gary Anderson (6)

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