Huntly’s John Henderson exited the World Championship with a 3-1 defeat by Welshman Jonny Clayton.
Henderson secured his place in the second round with a scrappy 3-2 victory against Finland’s Marko Kantele, despite being far from his best.
The Highlander started in a more promising fashion by breaking in the opening leg but number 17 seed Clayton, part of the Welsh team that won the World Cup earlier this year, took the next three legs to win the set.
A 109 finish wasn’t enough to help Henderson prevent the Welshman from moving closer to victory by winning the second set 3-1.
Henderson suddenly came to life by winning the third with a 112 finish followed up by an 85 checkout before pinning double 10 to take the set.
The Huntly arrowsmith made it five legs on the spin to take a 2-0 advantage in the fourth but was punished after missing three darts for the set.
A 140 finish helped the Welshman claw the set back to 2-2 and he got the job completed in the next leg with a double 10.
Clayton, who will face either Joe Cullen or Wayne Jones in the third round, admitted he was relieved to make it through.
He said: “I am a happy man.
“John didn’t play anywhere near to the level he can play.
“I went 2-0 up and I knew he wasn’t playing his best game so I wanted to get the third set.
“He started to get back into it slowly but thank God I managed to get over the finishing line.
“He took a set back and I know what John can do if I didn’t get going again.
“I really didn’t want him to warm up.
“John Henderson is the nicest guy you will ever meet. There is not a bad bone in his body and he is one serious dart player.
“I knew if I let him play he was going to come back and he could have won.
“Thankfully I managed to get the job done.
“My confidence is high and, like every other player, I want to do well.
“I had one tough match there against Hendo and I am happy to come through it.”
Earlier in the evening Keegan Brown defeated Ryan Meikle 3-0, while Ryan Searle beat Jeffrey de Zwann by the same scoreline.