Michael van Gerwen has remained on course for a second successive World Matchplay title with a 16-9 victory over Dave Chisnall.
The world number one took eight of the opening 10 legs to establish a huge lead over his opponent and although the St Helens thrower rallied to reduced the deficit to five, Van Gerwen comfortably saw out the rest of the match to set up a showdown with Adrian Lewis.
The world number four and Peter Wright both struggled for form during the first half of the contest but the match heated up as Wright moved into a 10-8 lead.
However, Lewis reeled off five legs in a row to move clear but the tension inside the Winter Gardens increased when the two-time world champion missed a number of darts for the match.
Wright kept his hopes alive at 15-14 but Lewis responded with a 12-dart leg to set up a meeting with Van Gerwen on Saturday evening.
Darren Plant
