Luke Littler received a hugely positive response from the Alexandra Palace crowd as he raced into the PDC World Championship semi-finals before second seed Luke Humphries was knocked out by rising star Gian van Veen.

Defending champion Littler, who was booed by some spectators during his previous match on Monday, was a convincing 5-0 winner against Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski and will play fellow Englishman Ryan Searle next.

Dutchman Van Veen, 23, is provisionally up to third in the PDC world rankings after knocking out 2024 world champion Humphries, who was considered by many to be Littler's biggest challenger for the 2026 title in London.

Van Veen beat Humphries in three major televised tournaments in 2025, including in the final of the European Championship in October, and averaged 105 in a 5-1 victory.

He will play two-time champion Gary Anderson in Friday's other semi.

Van Veen, the 10th seed, told Sky Sports: "I'm so over the moon.

"After the last game, someone asked me if that was the biggest win of my career and I said no, it was the European Championship final.

"Now, it probably is this win tonight."

The aftermath of Littler's fourth-round victory over Rob Cross was dominated by the booing aimed at the world number one and the 18-year-old's post-match reaction.

There was a small smattering of boos as Littler was introduced by MC John McDonald before facing Ratajski, but they were quickly drowned out by those singing along to his walk-on song, and a lengthy rendition of "there's only one Luke Littler" followed before a dart was thrown.

There were more cheers as Littler produced a superb 170 checkout to clinch the first set and he won 12 of the subsequent 15 legs to defeat unseeded Ratajski.

He said: "A few boos here and there but as soon as I got on stage the crowd were absolutely unbelievable.

"Leading up to it, my family and friends were just like 'whatever happens, happens'.

"As soon as I got on stage, I clapped everyone so they knew I wanted them on my side again. They were on my side tonight and I got the job done.

"I am growing as a player mentally. I know how to deal with it.

"The Rob Cross game definitely tested me, but I got through it and in future games I will know how to deal with it."

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

The 38-year-old extended that run to 17 with some clinical finishing in the first three sets against Jonny Clayton.

A 111 finish in the deciding leg of the fifth - one of his three ton-plus checkouts in the match - helped 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 only 10 of his 40 attempts at doubles.

Searle, in contrast, hit 17 of his 30 attempts.

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

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."

Anderson ended debutant Justin Hood's exceptional run to clinch a semi-final place for the first time in four years.

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.

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

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