Luke Humphries saw off a spirited fightback from Michael Smith as he booked his place in the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts with a 16-8 victory.
World number one Humphries raced into a 4-0 lead in the best of 31-leg match but Smith battled back to level it at 7-7 all.
However, Humphries won nine of the next 10 legs as the 30-year-old ruthlessly closed out the contest against his fellow Englishman.
Humphries, the 2023 Grand Slam champion, averaged an impressive 104.98 with a checkout percentage of 44.4%
He will face Gerwyn Price in the last four after the Welshman chalked up a 16-9 win over England’s Ricky Evans.
The remaining two quarter-finals at the WV Active Aldersley centre in Wolverhampton take place on Saturday.
World champion Luke Littler faces Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock while Germany’s Lukas Wenig takes on Dutchman Danny Noppert.
