Anderson beats Hood to join Searle in semi-finals

Two-time champion Gary Anderson clinched a place in the PDC World Championship semi-finals for the first time in four years, ending debutant Justin Hood's exceptional run at Alexandra Palace.

The first four sets of their quarter-final were shared before Scotland's Anderson, 55, stepped on the accelerator - winning nine of the next 10 legs to secure a convincing victory.

"I'm over the moon to get through," Anderson, who will play either Luke Humphries or Gian van Veen in the last four, told Sky Sports.

"I know Luke Littler is the greatest on the planet now but Luke Humphries is there or thereabouts and a top-class player.

"Gian is very good - it's going to be a tough one."

Earlier, 20th seed Ryan Searle was a 5-2 winner against Jonny Clayton, a result which will take him into the world's top 10.

It also set up a potential semi-final against defending champion Littler, who will play Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski from 19:00 GMT.

English left-hander Hood, 32, has earned plenty of plaudits for his play and become a crowd favourite during his first appearance at Alexandra Palace.

He was cheered loudly as he stepped up to try to hit a 126 checkout to extend the match in what proved to be the final leg of the contest, and again as he left the stage following his defeat.

Hood has earned £100,000 for reaching the quarter-finals - a portion of which he has said he intends to use to open a Chinese restaurant - and has risen from 86th to 50th in the PDC world rankings.

Searle had won 14 consecutive sets without reply to reach his first World Championship quarter-final.

The 38-year-old Englishman extended that run to 17 with some clinical finishing in the first three sets against Clayton, who took a scrappy fourth to reduce his deficit.

Searle's 111 finish in the deciding leg of the fifth, one of his three ton-plus checkouts in the match, restored his three-set advantage and he dominated the seventh set to secure a spot in the last four.

Clayton scored better for long spells of the quarter-final but too many missed attempts on the outer ring proved costly for the Welsh fifth seed, who landed just 10 of his 40 attempts at doubles (25%).

Searle, in contrast, hit 17 of his 30 attempts (56.7%).

Searle lives with dominant optic atrophy, a genetic eye condition which affects his vision and for which he wears contact lenses.

Speaking to Sky Sports on stage after his win, he said: "I can't see particularly well.

"Other people who try to play darts, if they can't see particularly well, try not to let that hold you back.

"I try to be an inspiration to them."

Semi-final matches are best of 11 sets and will be played on Friday, 2 January from 19:30 GMT