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Ryan Meikle held off a spirited fightback from Fallon Sherrock to set up a second-round clash with last year’s runner-up Luke Littler in the World Darts Championship.
Sherrock, who became the first female player to win a match in the tournament in December 2019, won the first set and fought back from 2-1 down to force a decider at Alexandra Palace.
The 30-year-old then narrowly missed the bull to take out 170 in the fourth leg before left-hander Meikle held his nerve to hit double 18 for a 96 finish to seal a hard-fought win.
“I felt good coming into the match and then the first leg I missed a few darts and all of a sudden Fallen went out and I was on the back foot and before I knew it she won the first set,” Meikle told Sky Sports.
“I felt under pressure from the start and just to come through that I feel unbelievable. At 2-1 up I thought I was in control and before I knew it, it was 2-2 and I thought ‘I’m not in control now’.
“Obviously the crowd want Fallon [to win], the atmosphere is unbelievable. Fallon is so good, so I am so happy to come through that.”
Speaking about Saturday night’s second-round match with teenage star Littler, Meikle added: “For me it’s an unbelievable prize.
“To play Luke Littler on this stage here, it’s the biggest stage of them all. I’m so happy. I’m not going to say I’m going to win, but I can’t wait to play him.”
Two-time winner Peter Wright hailed the support of the crowd after battling to a 3-1 second-round win over Wesley Plaisier.
“It wasn’t the battling qualities, it was this crowd that got me through,” Wright told Sky Sports after averaging just 89.63.
“I played rubbish but all I heard was these guys getting behind me and I didn’t want to let them down and I didn’t want to let my family down.”
In the afternoon session, Noa-Lynn van Leuven was left to rue what might have been.
Van Leuven became the first transgender player to compete on the Alexandra Palace stage and she held her own in a 3-1 loss to Kevin Doets.
The Dutchwoman, who transitioned in 2021, will leave with regrets over the third leg of the second set as she wasted an incredible chance to break Doets’ throw and then have the darts for a 2-0 lead.
But she could not take out 68 points in 18 attempts, with her compatriot eventually winning the leg in 33 darts.
Doets set up a second-round rematch with Michael Smith, who beat him in a final-leg decider in the same stage of last year’s tournament.
James Hurrell’s Ally Pally debut ended better as he beat Jim Long 3-0 to set up a Friday night showdown with three-time champion Michael van Gerwen.
“It’s amazing, the whole thing I was thinking throughout the game was to play Michael van Gerwen on Friday,” he said.
“It’s a massive challenge, it is so good, I cannot wait.”
Mike De Decker crashed out to Luke Woodhouse in the second round.
De Decker, seeded 24, was an outside bet to make a title challenge after a breakthrough year which saw him win the World Grand Prix in October.
But he lost 3-1 to Woodhouse, who made it through to the third round for the second time.
“The win is incredible. I have only got through the second round once so I am happy,” he said in his on-stage interview.
“I need to come out and stay consistent. I was fortunate Mike wasn’t on it, we’ll see what happens after Christmas.”
Elsewhere, Ryan Joyce beat Darius Labanauskas 3-1, Jeffrey de Graaf defeated Rashad Sweeting by the same score and Ricardo Pietreczko whitewashed Xiaochen Zong 3-0.
