Peter Wright’s bid to win the PDC William Hill World Darts Championship ended at the quarter-final stage last night. The Suffolk player, who reached the final last year, was beaten 5-1 by Scotland’s Gary Anderson.

Anderson got off to a great start with a 110 check-out and a 180 with a 76 finish doubled that lead. Another 180 wasn’t enough in the third leg but he sealed the set with a 177 helping him to a 59 checkout.

The Scot moved further head by taking the scond set 3-2. Another 180 and double top gave him the lead, but Wright took the next two, with an 84 finish in the third. A 121 on the bull levelled for Anderson before he took the decider.

Wright then took the third set 3-1 to close the gap. His first 180 and a double tops finish put him ahead before a double eight made it 2-0. Anderson hit a 180, 140 combination before breaking but Wright followed suit, a 96 finish giving him the set.

Anderson quickly re-established control by moving 3-1 ahead, with Wright taking out 100 with two double tops for his only leg. It then became 4-1 when Anderson edged home 3-2, with a 13-darter along the way, before he made it three sets in a row to win the match comfortably.

Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen earlier sealed his place in the semi-finals after coming out on top 5-2 in an exciting contest with Robert Thornton.

Van Gerwen looked to be cruising through to the last four at Alexandra Palace after a blistering start saw him race into a 3-0 lead.

He struck 180s in all five legs of the first set before finishing things off with a 10-darter, and he continued to impress as he won the next two sets as well.

However, Thornton was also producing some great darts and he won the next two sets to reduce Van Gerwen’s lead to 3-2, and the 2012 UK Open champion should really have made it 3-3 as well.

The Scot could not make the most of his opportunity, though, and Van Gerwen made him pay by winning the final two sets – including a 170 checkout to seal the victory.

In this evening’s quarter-finals 16-times world champion Phil Taylor takes on Vincent van der Voort before Raymond van Barneveld meets reigning BDO champion Stephen Bunting.