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Michael van Gerwen cruises into last eight

Michael van Gerwen is the reigning PDC champion
Michael van Gerwen is the reigning PDC champion

Defending champion Michael van Gerwen warned his rivals he would only get better after marching into the quarter-finals of the William Hill World Darts Championship with a 4-1 win over Terry Jenkins.

The world number one won the last three sets to progress at Alexandra Palace, crucially coming from two legs down to take the fourth set 3-2.

Van Gerwen, who had an average of 99.6, said on Sky Sports Darts: "I felt good, to play games like this you need to feel relaxed otherwise you won't win.

"I feel confident, I feel good, there's more in the tank."

Van Gerwen will taken on Robert Thornton in the last eight after he swept aside Benito van de Pas 4-0.

In the first match of the evening, Stephen Bunting, the BDO world champion in his first season on the PDC circuit, shocked James Wade as some clinical checkouts earned him a place in the last 16.

Bunting produced finishes of 161 and 144 on his way to a 4-1 win.

In the afternoon session, Raymond van Barneveld edged a thrilling second-round contest with Jamie Craven 4-3, Michael Smith beat Brendan Dolan 4-2 and Vincent van der Voort crushed German Max Hopp 4-0.

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