Wednesday 24 December 2014 13:46, UK
The PDC's top players served up plenty of drama during the first round of the World Darts Championship.
Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor stayed on course for a potential meeting in the final, but a host of seeds have already bowed out at Alexandra Palace.
Defending champion Van Gerwen endured a scare during his 3-1 victory over Joe Cullen and will be hoping to raise his standards in a second-round meeting with Sascha Stein.
Taylor, the pre-tournament favourite, had no such problems during a ruthless 3-0 win over German Jyhan Artut.
Targeting a 17th title, the Stoke thrower made serene progress with an average of over 100 to book a clash with Mark Webster.
Last year’s beaten finalist Peter Wright also recaptured his Ally Pally form in a 3-0 win over Gerwyn Price, while big names James Wade and Adrian Lewis joined him in the next stage.
Former winner Raymond van Barneveld showed glimpses of his best finishing in a routine victory over Rowby-John Rodriguez and genuine contenders such as Gary Anderson and Dave Chisnall are also safely through.
But there were a string of shock exits in the capital, with seventh seed Simon Whitlock the most notable early casualty.
The Australian reached last year’s semi-finals, but this time was sent packing thanks to a 3-1 defeat to Darren Webster.
Mervyn King was another seed to fall at the first hurdle, with German teenager Max Hopp inflicting a shock 3-2 loss on the Suffolk man, who was nursing a bad back.
Wes Newton, Justin Pipe, Steve Beaton, Paul Nicholson and John Part were also eliminated during the opening matches.
Keegan Brown, the reigning world youth champion, bolstered his growing reputation by brushing aside Part.
Hopp’s thrilling victory ensured he will be a name to follow, while qualifier Cristo Reyes and Dutchman Benito van de Pas announced themselves with wins over Newton and Nicholson.
Watch the PDC World Championship live on Sky Sports Darts. For information on how to upgrade to Sky Sports head to www.skysports.com/watch/get-sky
Watch the Darts World Championship on NOW TV with a Sky Sports Day or Week Pass. No contract.
Don't forget you can follow @SkySportsDarts on Twitter for all the latest news and views from the world of Darts.
Only pay for Sky Sports on the days you want to watch it with NOW TV. Watch live Sky Sports without a contract with no hidden charges. Sign up and start watching the World Championship immediately on any device for just £6.99 a day or £10.99 for a week. Or plug the NOW TV Box (£9.99 one off fee) into your TV, no installation, works with your existing broadband.