PDC William Hill World Darts Championship 2016: Quarter-Final Scores and Results

Raymond van Barneveld began Friday's evening quarter-final action at the Friday's 2016 PDC William Hill World Darts Championships with one of the most enthralling comebacks of the tournament, knocking out Michael Smith following a 5-4 win.

Down 0-3 to start the match, Van Barneveld somehow recovered to advance to the next round and face off with Adrian Lewis, who made quick work of Peter Wright, winning 5-2.

Defending champion Gary Anderson also made a huge statement during the quarter-finals, crushing James Wade, 5-1.

The Flying Scotsman produced some phenomenal darts, winning seven legs in a row at one point and cruising into the semi-finals, where he'll meet Jelle Klaasen.

Alan Norris was two darts from victory against Klaasen, who defeated 16-time champion Phil Taylor to make it to the quarter-finals. The 2006 Lakeside champion eventually won 5-4, qualifying for the last four of the tournament for the first time in his career.

Here's a look at the full schedule for Friday's quarter-finals:

Alan Norris	4-5	Jelle Klaasen
Gary Anderson	5-1	James Wade
Raymond van Barneveld	5-4	Michael Smith
Adrian Lewis	5-2	Peter Wright

All statistics are courtesy of PDC.tv.

Recap

Anderson made an incredible start against Wade, averaging 106 through the first three sets and winning six legs in a row to build a 3-0 lead. The first set went with the throw, but from that point onward, the Machine barely had a chance to try his hand at the doubles.

Wade finally broke Anderson's run with an 88 checkout early in the fourth set, but Anderson kept up the ridiculous pace in the fifth, taking out 90 to move within one set of a semi-final spot.

Live Darts shared a handful of statistics, which highlighted Anderson's dominance:

Wade almost seemed to give up in the sixth, and Anderson easily closed out the win, averaging 105.25 in the process.

Debutant Norris and Klaasen served up a fantastic match to start the day, with the Dutchman eventually booking his place in the semi-finals with a 5-4 win.

Norris had been one of the feel-good stories of this year's tournament, and he came agonisingly close to continuing his Cinderella run against Klaasen. The 43-year-old won the first set and held a 4-3 advantage going into the eighth, but the Cobra showed his remarkable talent to complete a stunning comeback.

Both averaged well over 98 and came close to a nine-darter on several occasions, including this attempt from Norris in the eighth set, via PDC Darts:

Norris looked more composed on the doubles early, but a poor stretch in the middle of the match allowed Klaasen to come back from 3-1 down. The seventh set was a nail-biter, with Klaasen missing three crucial darts in the third leg.

Norris took a 4-3 lead in the following leg, taking out 76, and bet365 wondered whether anyone could have predicted this:

Two 11-darters from the Cobra saw him win a tense eighth set to force a decider, before continuing his hot streak in the final set, winning all three legs. As shared by Live Darts, the Dutchman believes his performance on the doubles will be the key to winning his first-ever world title:

With the likes of Taylor and Michael van Gerwen no longer vying for the title, the road appears to be wide open for Klaasen to cap off a remarkable season. However, he'll need to improve to beat defending champion Anderson.

The man to whom Van Gerwen fell victim, Van Barneveld, prevailed over Smith, and this image from Live Darts perfect captures the moment of victory:

The tide of the match completely turned in the fourth set. Van Barneveld cruised in the set, winning 3-0 and then combined to win the next three sets, 9-2. Smith began looking a bit rattled but recovered in the eighth set to set up the defining set.

Smith took an early 2-0 lead but fell apart from there, and a double 16 was enough to put Van Barneveld over the top.

Smith finished with five more maximums, registering 13 to Van Barneveld's five, but Van Barneveld's 47 percent checkout rate ended up being the difference between the two.

After the dramatics of Van Barneveld's triumph, Lewis brought the round to a somewhat anticlimactic conclusion. He jumped ahead 3-0 after the first three sets and then led 4-1. Wright attempted to make a comeback with a win in the sixth set, but his semi-final dreams were ended in quick succession.