Simon Whitlock recaptured some of his old Alexandra Palace magic, despite the 2010 runner-up and three-time semi-finalist ultimately losing a thriller 3-2 to Connor Scutt in the first round of the World Darts Championship.
Having fallen behind 2-0 in sets, The Wizard sparked into life with a stunning 167 finish on the bullseye en route to taking the third set, with Scutt missing four match darts in the deciding leg.
Whitlock almost outdid himself with a Big Fish finish to win the fourth set, only to miss the bull on this occasion, but the Australian would level the match regardless shortly after.
Whitlock went into the lead for the first time as he broke to start the deciding set, but Scutt then suddenly found his best form to take the next three legs for the win.
That run included a 127 finish in the third leg, before he started the fourth with seven perfect darts to sit on a potential nine-dart finish to end the match.
Scutt would miss his eighth dart at treble 20, as well as three more darts for the match - taking his tally to seven - before he finally landed double four for the win, booking a second-round meeting with two-time champion Gary Anderson.
Jonny Clayton came through a slight scare to beat Ally Pally debutant Adam Lipscombe 3-1, the fifth seed overcoming a shaky start to win five of the last six legs.
The Welshman averaged in the 80s for most of the match, missing 21 darts at a double, but he improved that to 92.53 courtesy of his late scoring streak which included three ton-plus checkouts in the fourth set.
Clayton first saw off a 145 finish, before nailing 135 in the next leg, and though Lipscombe briefly interrupted The Ferret's hot streak, he'd return to wrap things up by taking out 100.
Lipscombe acquitted hismelf well on debut, despite a nervy opening, edging the second set to level the match before Clayton found another gear.
Dirk van Duijvenbode won six of the last seven legs to rally from 2-1 down in sets to beat Belgium's Andy Baetens 3-2, a run that included three consecutive ton-plus checkouts from the 29th seed - including a Big Fish.
Van Duijvenbode first saw off 109 and 106 finishes to level the match at 2-2 and force a final-set decider, before his 170 - the fourth of the tournament and second of the day - earned an early break of throw.
Up 2-0 in legs, the Dutchman then threw five perfect darts to start the next as he looked to finish the match in style, only for a stunning 142 checkout and 12-dart leg by Baetens to deny him a little longer.
Van Duijvenbode would, however, wrap things up in the next leg, finishing the match with eight maximums and an impressive 98.54 average.
Max Hopp got the better of Martin Lukeman on his first Ally Pally appearance for five years, the German hitting seven maximums in his 3-1 victory.
Hopp started the match particularly strong, denying his opponent a single dart at double as he swept the first set, before he battled back from 2-0 down to claim the second.
Lukeman threatened a comeback by taking the third, but an increasingly edgy Hopp closed things out in the fourth to book his spot in the second round against Luke Woodhouse.
In the afternoon session, 20-year-old debutant Charlie Manby shocked Cameron Menzies in a five-set epic to triumph on the Alexandra Palace stage in the game of the tournament so far.
The pair hit 14 maximums between them as 26th seed Cammy missed 31 darts at double in .
Manby had battled back from 1-0 and 2-1 down in sets, averaging 90.62 with five 180s to seal a sensational win.
Menzies, who was taken to hospital after his run in with the table drew blood on his knuckles, later apologised for his reaction.
"I would like to apologise for what happened," said Menzies in a statement. "I am sorry that I reacted in the manner that I did."
Two-time world champion Peter Wright booked his place in the last 64 as Snakebite got the better of Noa-Lynn van Leuven with a whitewash win despite an average of just 83.5.
Three-time quarter-finalist Brendan Dolan defeated debutant Tavis Dudeney 3-1 in an entertaining affair, Dolan defying a staggering nine 180s from Dudeney to triumph on his Ally Pally return.
Dolan, who has dropped outside the top 32, wrapped up victory with three ton-plus checkouts, including the 'Big Fish' to seal the second set. He will face 20th seed Ryan Searle in the second round.
Mensur Suljovic returned to winning ways on the Ally Pally stage, the Austrian producing a fine display to see off a spirited David Cameron 3-1 and set up a meeting with Joe Cullen.
Day Six on Tuesday at the World Darts Championship sees another bumper double session day of action live on Your Site Darts.
In the afternoon from 12.30pm, Alan Soutar kicks things off against Teemu Harju before Nick Kenny faces Justin Hood and 2024 semi-finalist Scott Williams plays Paolo Nebrida. The session concludes with eighth seed Chris Dobey, fresh from his final-four run last year, taking on Xiaochen Zong.
In the evening from 7pm, Ricardo Pietreczko and Jose de Sousa go head to head before Danny Noppert goes up against Jurjen van der Velde in an all-Dutch affair. Former world champion Gerwyn Price headlines the evening's action as he faces Adam Gawlas, before the night ends with Niko Springer versus Joe Comito.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live all the way through until January 3 on Your Site' dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407 from December 10). .
