Jonny Clayton will take on Josh Rock after headline and trio of qualifiers on a dramatic day of third round action at the Cazoo World Darts Championship.
The Welshman came through a gruelling five-set battle against former quarter-finalist Brendan Dolan.
After all five sets went to deciding-legs, Clayton’s superiority in the crucial moments proved decisive, with Dolan missing 157 and 85 combinations to win sets two and three.
The Northern Irishman opened his account in a tightly-contested fourth set, but a clinical 116 checkout from Clayton propelled him to a 4-1 success with a 93 average and six 180s.
Gabriel Clemens survived a match dart to defeat Jim Williams in one of the games of the tournament so far, in a contest played out with over 700 German fans in attendance at Ally Pally.
The opening two sets were shared before Clemens followed up a sensational 157 finish with a 13-darter to lead 2-1, although the German number one then squandered two darts for a 3-1 lead as Williams levelled.
The Welshman – who dumped out James Wade in round two – raced into a 3-2 lead, only for Clemens to save his skin in dramatic fashion, taking out 64 and 110 finishes to stay alive.
Williams then missed one match dart at double six for a 126 show-stopper, and he was suitably punished late on, as Clemens followed up an 11-dart hold with an 85 finish on the bull to triumph in a seven-set classic.
Meanwhile, in Tuesday’s curtain-raiser, Van den Bergh was the first player to book a place in the last 16, courtesy of an emphatic 4-1 success against Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski.
Ratajski squandered four darts to win the opening set, and after eventually pinning double four to draw first blood, Van den Bergh raced through set two with a 112 average to extend his lead.
Ratajski halved the deficit with a clean sweep in set three – sparked by a superb 135 finish on tops and sealed with an 11-darter – but Van den Bergh recovered to close out a convincing win.
2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship
Tuesday December 27
Afternoon Session
3x Third Round
Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-1 Krzysztof Ratajski (3-2, 3-0, 0-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Josh Rock 4-3 Nathan Aspinall (3-2, 1-3, 1-3, 3-1, 3-2, 0-3, 3-1)
Jonny Clayton 4-1 Brendan Dolan (3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 2-3, 3-2)
Evening Session
3x Third Round
Gabriel Clemens 4-3 Jim Williams (3-1, 0-3, 3-2, 2-3, 1-3, 3-2, 3-1)
Gerwyn Price 4-0 Raymond van Barneveld (3-1, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1)
Kim Huybrechts 4-1 Peter Wright (0-3, 3-0, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2)
Wednesday December 28
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Third Round
Ryan Searle v Jose de Sousa
Danny Noppert v Alan Soutar
Gary Anderson v Chris Dobey
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x Third Round
Joe Cullen v Damon Heta
Michael van Gerwen v Mensur Suljovic
Michael Smith v Martin Schindler
ENDS
Images: Kieran Cleeves/ PDC
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