The World Darts Championship has already been a belter, with Gary Anderson surviving a first round encounter against Jyhan Artut
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Gary Anderson came from two sets down to claim a dramatic sudden-death victory against Germany's Jyhan Artut in the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on Tuesday night.
Last year's finalist looked set to crash out in the first round of this year's £1 million tournament when Artut - who knocked out Wayne Mardle in 2009 - took six of the first eight legs to win the opening two sets.
Anderson, aided by a 120 finish, regained his range on the troublesome double top to take the next two sets and level the game before the pair shared the first eight legs as the final set went into a tie-break.
Artut then won the ninth to lead 5-4, but missed four match darts as Anderson forced a deciding leg and finished 76 for a 14-darter to snatch a remarkable win.
"I've never missed as many darts at double top and ten in a match in my life but I've got away with it," admitted Anderson, who has also won the Premier League Darts since being runner-up at Alexandra Palace last January.
"I gave him lots of chances and he took them in the first two sets, but I pulled it back and hit a double that I'd spent all day missing - tops - to get a sudden-death leg.
"Adrian Lewis did similar to this earlier in the tournament and he's probably lucky to still be in the tournament and it's the same for me - I've played my 'get out of jail free' card there.
"It's a wake-up call for me though and I'll be going away to practice hard over the next week because I'll have to be better in the next round. It's not been a great preparation but I'll be banging the practice board for a week now."
In contrast, number ten seed Terry Jenkins enjoyed comfortable passage into the last 32 with a straight sets win over Bradford youngster Joe Cullen.
Cullen had come from two sets down to force a decider when the pair met in last year's first round, but was unable to repeat the performance as Jenkins dropped just three legs in taking victory.
"I expected Joe to play a bit better and he struggled a bit, but I kept the pressure on him and hit the finishes at the right times," said Jenkins. "He's a very good player and it's a relief to get that one out of the way.
"I'm throwing well, I'm putting the right sort of practice in, my head's right and you never know what might happen. If I can bring my practice game onto the stage I can beat anybody, and there's a chance for me this year I think."
Former world number one Colin Lloyd fought back well from a set down against American number one Darin Young, winning nine of the final 12 legs in taking a 3-1 victory over the left-hander.
"I thought I produced a decent first set but I came off and told myself not to panic," said Lloyd, a former World Matchplay and World Grand Prix winner.
"I've done that in the past and self-destructed, but I went back on stage and kept doing what I was doing, Darin gave me some opportunities and I took them.
"I'm nice and relaxed and I feel good, and that's nice for me but dangerous for whoever I play next."
Dutch youngster Michael van Gerwen was the night's other winner, seeing off former UK Open finalist Colin Osborne 3-1.
Van Gerwen hit finishes of 108 and 135 in taking the first two sets before Osborne won the third without reply, but the 22-year-old won three successive legs of his own to set up a tasty second round contest with Mervyn King.
The first round concludes on Wednesday evening, with 2010 finalist Simon Whitlock making his return from a broken ankle when he plays Dennis Smith.
Three-time World Champion John Part takes on Scottish debutant John Henderson, Andy Smith plays newcomer Scott Rand and Bristol's Steve Brown meets either South Africa's Devon Petersen or Portugal's Jose de Sousa.
Ladbrokes World Darts Championship
Preliminary (P) and First Round
Tuesday December 20
Colin Lloyd 3-1 Darin Young
Joe Cullen 4-2 Oliver Ferenc (P)
Colin Osborne 1-3 Michael van Gerwen
Gary Anderson 3-2 Jyhan Artut
Terry Jenkins 3-0 Joe Cullen
Wednesday December 21
Andy Smith v Scott Rand
Devon Petersen v Jose de Sousa (P)
John Part v John Henderson
Simon Whitlock v Dennis Smith
Steve Brown v Petersen/de Sousa
