Anderson through but James Wade makes Ally Pally exit

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