Phil Taylor eases into second round of PDC World Championship

Phil Taylor overcame the first hurdle on his quest to securing a 17th world title by easing past Jyhan Artut this evening.

The Power, who suffered disappointment in this tournament early on 12 months ago, averaged 100.57 while hitting 60% of his doubles to record a comprehensive 3-0 victory and book his place in the second round of the PDC World Championship.

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Last year's runner-up Peter Wright made equally light work of former rugby player Gerwyn Price, breaking throw in the final leg to seal a 3-0 whitewash victory, although things proved to be far tighter in the evening's opening match between Andy Hamilton and qualifier Dave Richardson.

The Hammer was pushed into a fifth-set decider at Alexandra Palace, missing five darts for the match before eventually closing out for the win to secure his passage through.

Elsewhere, Sascha Stein set up a meeting with Stuart Kellett after overcoming Kim Viljanen 4-1 in a preliminary clash, and the German got off to a good start against his English counterpart by taking a one-set lead.

Kellet edged a five-leg thriller to level up the match, but Stein won the following two sets to tee up a second-round clash with reigning champion Michael van Gerwen.