Story byLuke Littler has played 10 sets so far at this year's World Championship - and won them all []Phil Cartwright - BBC Sport journalistSat, December 27, 2025 at 11:43 PM UTC·4 min readWorld number one Luke Littler produced a dominant performance to book a spot in the last 16 at the PDC World Championship, but fourth seed Stephen Bunting became the highest-ranked player to exit this year's tournament. Littler averaged more than 107 and lost just three legs in a 4-0 win over Austria's Mensur Suljovic, demonstrating why he is the man to beat at Alexandra Palace. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 18-year-old from Warrington is bidding to retain his PDC world crown - a feat that has not been achieved since Scotland's Gary Anderson won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016. Littler was seeded to meet Bunting in the semi-finals, but the world number four was defeated in a deciding set by world number 63 and fellow Englishman James Hurrell. Bunting, twice a semi-finalist at Alexandra Palace, was not at his best but found clinical ton-plus finishes at the right times to take the match all the way to a seventh set. But Hurrell maintained a solid level of form throughout and emerged victorious, ending the match with a 100 checkout. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 41-year-old is provisionally into the top 50 of the PDC world rankings as a result of his run at Alexandra Palace and his fourth-round opponent will be the winner of Sunday's match between Germany's Martin Schindler and England's Ryan Searle.'The best I've felt' - Littler too strong for SuljovicLeaving the stage at the end of the second set, Mensur Suljovic gestured that he had little chance of stopping Littler in the form he was showing [PA Media]Some of the build-up to Littler's third-round match focused on how he would cope with Suljovic's slower style, which had irked the Austrian's second-round opponent Joe Cullen. If there was any concern that it would be an issue for the teenager, that soon disappeared. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSuljovic did not have a dart at a double in any of the first seven legs, let alone win one. Leaving the stage at the end of the second set, he walked off with a big smile and his arms outstretched, as if to say to his followers that he had no answer to Littler's brilliance. The former World Matchplay finalist eventually earned his first leg of the match in the third set, but Littler ensured his record of not dropping a set in this tournament would remain intact. Littler told Sky Sports: "I'm really happy. The finishing was good - 71%, I don't think I've seen that in my PDC career."I felt so settled tonight.