GARY Anderson survived being taken to a deciding set for the second successive round at the World Darts Championship, but eventually saw off Chris Dobey to reach the quarter-finals.
Burnham-on-Sea resident Anderson, world champion in 2015 and 2016, started with a stellar 123 check-out, only for Dobey to hit back to take the first set and then went 2-0 up after reeling off three consecutive legs.
But Anderson averaged 104 for the third set, barely giving his opponent a look-in, and then pounced after Dobey missed a dart at bullseye, levelling at 2-2.
Yet with an average of 112 for the fifth set, it was Dobey who moved ahead again, 3-2, before Anderson held off a fightback in the sixth to force a deciding set.
The pair traded legs up to 2-2, Anderson went 3-2 up, although he missed three darts for the match, another big miss from Dobey allowed the Burnham star to sneak through.
Anderson will now face either Jamie Lewis or Dave Chisnall in the last eight at Alexandra Palace, with the quarter-finals to be played on Saturday, December 29.
Lewis and Chisnall's match is on tonight, as is the fourth-round tie between Wellington's Ryan Searle and Michael Smith.
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