Gary Anderson was pushed to his limits but won a last-leg decider against exciting BDO youngster Danny Noppert at the Grand Slam of Darts on Thursday.
Dutchman Noppert did much to announce himself as a future star in the second-round tie with a doubling masterclass - as he led 6-4, he was yet to miss a shot at a double.
Anderson, the PDC world champion, held his nerve in the face of such pressure. By allowing Noppert just two efforts at a double in the remainder of the match, the Scot was able to string together five consecutive legs to build a crucial lead.
From 9-6 down, a brilliant 107 check-out showed Noppert still had some resolve and he forced a shoot-out which Anderson pinched.
Raymond van Barneveld ended the run of the BDO's No 1 player, Glen Durrant, with a 10-7 victory and will play Anderson next.
Barney was 5-2 ahead in the early exchanges but Durrant displayed toughness to justify his position in the latter stages of such a competition, grinding back to force a tense finish.
James Wade demonstrated that the up-and-coming Benito van de Pas still has some improvements to make before joining the elite, dishing out a 10-2 win.
The unforgiving Wade stormed into an 8-0 lead and looked likely to whitewash Van de Pas, but the young Dutchman finally steadied himself to put some legs on the scoreboard before his inevitable demise.
Wade will next play Chris Dobey who nearly threw away a 9-5 lead but eventually pipped Jamie Hughes in a last-leg shoot-out.
Dobey missed six darts for the match before confirming his progression, while Hughes had five opportunities that went astray to reach the quarter-finals.
World No 60 Dobey appeared to have built an insurmountable lead but wobbled as Hughes, the BDO No 4, found his rhythm.
Hughes first beat Dobey with both players stuck on 40 to reduce the deficit to 9-7, before a brilliant 107 check-out closed the gap further.
Hughes drew level at nine apiece and, remarkably, both players found themselves on 24. Hughes missed three darts at double 12, and Dobey ended his challenge with the next shot.