Scott Waites, Robert Thornton make Grand Slam of Darts semi-finals

Scott Waites and Robert Thornton will face each other for a place in the final of the Grand Slam of Darts after both came through their quarter-final encounters on Friday evening.

Lakeside champion Waites had already defeated Ted Hankey during the group stages, but 'The Count' staged a miraculous recovery on Wednesday to sneak past Simon Whitlock in the second round.

However, aside from the opening four legs of the match, Hankey was always trailing in their best-of-31 encounter, and despite the odd flashes of brilliance, he fell to a 16-10 loss.

In the night's other last-eight tie, Thornton dominated Tony O'Shea to reach the last four with a 16-6 triumph.

The Scot averaged in excess of 95, despite missing 35 darts at a double, and the former UK Open champion will now attempt to reach his fourth major final against Waites on Sunday afternoon.