Former world number one Colin Lloyd has been eliminated from the World Championship after going down 3-2 to Beau Anderson in tonight's first-round clash at the Alexandra Palace.
Lloyd, who reached the semi-final stage of the tournament in 2002, twice recovered from a set deficit to tee up a tense finale to the encounter after the duo both hit five legs apiece.
Anderson, whose brother Kyle threw a nine-dart finish en route to being knocked out by Ian White on Saturday, hit the bullseye to win the right to throw first in the last-leg shootout.
It would prove decisive as Lloyd's resistance waned in the final leg and the Aussie ultimately emerged victorious to set up a second-round clash with Robert Thornton.
Last year's beaten finalist Michael van Gerwen booked his place in the next round after dispatching Zoran Lerchbacher - who beat Ben Ward 4-1 in his preliminary match earlier in the evening - emphatically by a 3-0 margin.
The Dutchman dropped just one leg en route to a two-set advantage, before taking out a 137 checkout to close in on the victory.
The youngster's compatriot Vincent van der Voort also sealed his passage to the next round, albeit in slightly more labourous fashion, with a 3-1 win over Matt Clark.
The 37-year-old laboured to a first-set lead despite recording a meagre 79 three-dart average, before Clark restored parity as the duo went into the interval all square.
Both continued to endure indifferent trips to the oche but Van der Voort edged ahead again, before gradually flourishing and registering a 12-dart leg to seal the victory.
Meanwhile, Simon Whitlock laid down his marker by throwing a 97 three-dart average in the comfortable 3-0 win over debutant Ross Smith.
The Wizard recorded a 13-dart leg to claim the opening set over the Ally Pally newcomer. The Aussie then established daylight in the scoreline with a 14-darter after Smith had initially levelled the set with a 107 checkout.
The ruthless Whitlock then hit his fifth maximum of the evening before taking out double-top in the final leg to set up a clash with Finland's Jarkko Komula in the next round.
Shane Callaghan
