Smith makes it through

Andy Smith ended his first-round jinx at the PDC Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship with victory over Australia's Shane Tichowitsch at Alexandra Palace last night.

Smith had crashed out in the opening round of the past three tournaments, but sealed his passage following an entertaining battle 3-1.

The 27th seed needed to hit six 180s along the way to snuff out the challenge of the 93rd-ranked Tichowitsch, who had threatened a surprise after levelling the match at 1-1.

Smith claimed the opening set with a perfect checkout record, the most impressive of which saw him snatch the second leg with a 118 finish.

Smith's touch eluded him in the next set, however, and he missed a 40 checkout in the first leg to allow the Australian to get on the scoreboard for the first time.

It allowed Tichowitsch to settle and, with Smith proving more erratic, he dominated a set he should have won more comfortably than 3-2.

The left-hander missed five darts to win it 3-1, before taking a further six in the next leg to eventually level the match.

Smith responded strongly, however, and reeled off three more 180s to close out the match with back-to-back 3-0 sets.

Tenth seed Mark Walsh also dropped a set before he booked his place in the second round with victory over Justin Pipe.

Walsh had looked on course for a comfortable night when he won the opening two sets, before he was beaten 0-3 in the third.

But the 2005 UK Open finalist immediately bounced back to set up a last-32 meeting with Alan Tabern.

Veteran Dennis Priestley enjoyed an easy night as he beat Germany's Bernd Roith 3-0.

The 60-year-old, who won the title in 1994, lost the opening leg before reeling off the next nine to book a second-round meeting with 11th seed Gary Anderson.

Sixth seed Mervyn King will face Smith after concluding the night with a clinical 3-0 win over Magnus Caris.

The Swede had beaten Dietmar Burger in a preliminary round clash earlier in the day but won only two legs as King racked up 13 scores of 140 or more and maintained a 94 average.

He could even afford a bizarre start to the third leg of the match, which saw his first dart find treble 20 before the subsequent two both struck it and rebounded to the floor.

A 136 finish ensured King will return to the Palace after Christmas for round two.