Brendan Dolan says it 'meant the world' to him to progress to the last eight of the William Hill World Darts Championship after his 4-1 victory over Benito Van de Pas at the Alexandra Palace today.

The History Maker was not at is best but he acknowledged that it was all about getting the win and making it into the quarters.

"I obviously wanted to put in a better performance but it was about getting over the line. I went home for Christmas and I hadn't thrown in a couple of days, I got back and practised a lot yesterday to try and catch up for the couple of days but you never really can do that. Today didn't feel as comfortable as I have any of the other days but I think it was the anticipation of getting to the quarters," said Dolan.

Dolan admitted that he didn't think the game would be a thriller and doesn't think he carried the favourite tag well. 

"I didn't think it was going to be a lot to look at  to be honest because from my point of view it meant the world to get to the quarter-finals, shoot up the rankings and get back in contention of the top 32. 

"I hadn't dealt with being a favourite before and I don't think I performed too well to it," he said.

Next up is Nathan Aspinall and Dolan will be looking on it as an opportunity with Aspinall sitting at number 73 in the Order of Merit while the Belcoo man is number 45.

"This is a brilliant experience and I have a great opportunity but I have to keep focused on the dartboard and not who I am playing," he concluded.