Wednesday 21 December 2016 15:13, UK
Chris Dobey produced a brilliant World Championship debut to beat 26th seed Justin Pipe and book a place in the second round.
The 26-year-old from Newcastle withstood a fightback from his more experienced opponent to advance and he was joined in the second round by Ian White and Mark Webster who produced dominant displays to seal their place in the last 32.
Former BDO world champion Webster was ruthless with an 82% success rate on his doubles to see off Joe Murnan 3-0 while White beat Kevin Simm by the same scoreline in the final match of the afternoon session.
But it was Dobey who produced the most impressive all-round display of Sunday's first round matches, surging into a two-set lead after a brilliant start to his first ever appearance on the Alexandra Palace stage.
Pipe was left to rue missed opportunities in the opening set of the match taking just one of his 10 darts at doubles, while Dobey's red-hot finishing saw him take out the set by converting three of his four opportunities.
The second set saw Dobey showcase the ability that took him into the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam earlier this year, with a brilliant 101 finish the highlight as he moved to within one set of round two.
But Pipe is a tenacious competitor and somehow managed to edge out the next sets by three legs to two with Dobey missing two routine-looking darts at doubles that would have sealed a 3-0 victory.
Dobey surged two clear in the fourth thanks to finishes of 100 and 105 but once again Pipe refused to lie down as he fought back to level, only to miss five darts to take the the match into a decider.
And displaying admirable composure, Dobey sunk the crucial double to advance.
Also into round two is Webster. The Welshman is a two-time semi-finalist in the PDC event to go with his Lakeside title and while his scoring was below-par his finishing was anything but.
Webby, who has struggled for form over the last couple of years, reeled off seven straight darts at doubles on his way to a 2-0 lead against Murnan, a brilliant 129 finish the highlight before he edged the Bolton man 3-2 in the third and final set.
White was the third first round winner of the night, dispatching former Cheshire county colleague Simm with a routine victory.
Earlier in the day Simm had got the better of the more experienced Gilbert Ulang in the preliminary round to set up the showdown with White.
Both men produced flashes of quality but White's greater experience saw him come through in pretty comfortable fashion and he will next face Jonny Clayton.
Follow all the action from the William Hill World Darts Championship on Sky Sports Darts with every session live, December 15-January 2.
