THE Michael Smith and Luke Littler rivalry will continue in Australia on Saturday morning.

Saints supporter Smith from St Helens and Wire fan Littler from Warrington will go head-to-head in the tastiest of the quarter-finals ties in the Australian Darts Masters in Wollongong at 10.10am.

The pair, who made some new friends in the shape of kangaroos and koala bears when visiting Symbio Wildlife Park together yesterday, have got the better of each other on numerous occasions throughout 2024 and now they will get to showcase their talents on Aussie soil thanks to big wins in the last 16 today.

Neither was at their best in defeating Oceanic opponents but the competition will only get stiffer from here , with the winner of their quarter-final tie to meet world champion Luke Humphries or Dimitri Van den Bergh in the semi-finals.

Littler, 17, debuting in this tournament and seeded number one, produced a clinical display of combination finishing in his 6-2 win against Australian veteran Rob Modra, who had followed up a 112 checkout with a 14-dart hold to level at 2-2 earlier in the contest.

“I’m just glad to drag myself over the line, and hopefully I can improve tomorrow,” claimed Littler.

“Rob missed some crucial darts at double and it could have gone either way, but thankfully I took my chances.

“I’m really enjoying playing in the World Series, visiting new places and playing in front of new crowds!"

Littler averaged 90.68 with his scoring, achieved two 180s and recorded a highest checkout of 86.

World number two Smith converted 146 and 118 finishes during his comfortable 6-2 win against Australian Stuart Coburn, who conjured up a stunning 10-dart leg on his World Series debut.

Smith and Littler have squared up nine times this year, with the Warrington teenager winning three of the last four meetings though Smith is edging the win count 5-4.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will take place on a bumper Finals Day tomorrow.

UK fans can watch live on PDCTV and ITVX, with delayed coverage on ITV4 getting underway from 5pm on Saturday.

Results:

2024 Australian Darts Masters

Friday August 9

First Round

Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-1 Jeremy Fagg

Gerwyn Price 6-2 Brenton Lloyd

Michael Smith 6-2 Stuart Coburn

Luke Humphries 6-1 Joe Comito

Luke Littler 6-2 Rob Modra

Peter Wright 6-1 Simon Whitlock

Damon Heta 6-0 John Hurring

Rob Cross 6-5 Haupai Puha

Fixtures:

Saturday, August 10, from 10am UK time

Quarter Finals (best of 11 legs)

Luke Littler v Michael Smith

Luke Humphries v  Dimitri Van den Bergh

Rob Cross v Peter Wright

Gerwyn Price v Damon Heta

Semi-Finals (best of 13 legs), from 12.15pm:

Littler/Smith v Humphries/Van den Bergh

Cross/Wright v Price/Heta

Final (best of 15 legs), 1.45pm