Phil Taylor overcame the first hurdle on his quest to securing a 17th world title by easing past Jyhan Artut this evening.
The Power, who suffered disappointment in this tournament early on 12 months ago, averaged 100.57 while hitting 60% of his doubles to record a comprehensive 3-0 victory and book his place in the second round of the PDC World Championship.
© Getty Images
Last year's runner-up Peter Wright made equally light work of former rugby player Gerwyn Price, breaking throw in the final leg to seal a 3-0 whitewash victory, although things proved to be far tighter in the evening's opening match between Andy Hamilton and qualifier Dave Richardson.
The Hammer was pushed into a fifth-set decider at Alexandra Palace, missing five darts for the match before eventually closing out for the win to secure his passage through.
Elsewhere, Sascha Stein set up a meeting with Stuart Kellett after overcoming Kim Viljanen 4-1 in a preliminary clash, and the German got off to a good start against his English counterpart by taking a one-set lead.
Kellet edged a five-leg thriller to level up the match, but Stein won the following two sets to tee up a second-round clash with reigning champion Michael van Gerwen.
Daniel Lewis
