Gary Anderson, Luke Humphries and Dirk van Duijvenbode all progressed to round three of the Cazoo World Darts Championship on Thursday, as James Wade became the highest-profile casualty of the tournament so far.Day Eight of the £2.5m (€2.8m) event featured a star-studded cast at the Alexandra Palace, and two-time World Champion Anderson marked his 52nd birthday with a hard-fought win over Madars Razma.Anderson – who boasts more wins on the Alexandra Palace stage than any other player – came through a high-quality opening set with a 105 average, courtesy of 12, 15 and 13-dart legs.Razma responded with 121 and 134 finishes in consecutive legs to restore parity, and a superb 154 checkout midway through set three gave the Latvian the opportunity to throw for a 2-1 advantage.However, Razma squandered four darts at double for the set and paid the price, as Anderson conjured up 121 and 110 combinations in the latter stages to wrap up a 3-1 success."This is every dart player's dream just to stand on this stage," said the Scot, who is one win away from registering a half-century of victories at the PDC World Championship."Even me – if I cannot smile coming here – this is the place that you need to be.
It's just a great atmosphere and a great place for the World Championship."I’m not sure if I can win it this year. My game is not even close to what it should be, but I keep trying, and I am practising a lot more."However, while Anderson preserved his bid for a third World Championship crown, Wade became the biggest name to exit this year's tournament, following a dramatic deciding-set defeat to Williams.Wade made an assured start, winning the opening set with a flawless display of finishing and kicking off set two with a 107