CLASSY WRIGHT DISPLAYS WILLIAM HILL WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP CREDENTIALS
PETER WRIGHT laid down a marker at the William Hill World Darts Championship with a straight sets victory against Jerry Hendriks at Alexandra Palace, while Steve Beaton and debutant Jonny Clayton also triumphed on Friday.
Number three seed Wright was the first player to average over 100 in this year's tournament as he came out on top in an entertaining encounter against Dutch opponent Hendriks, who had earlier seen off New Zealand's Warren Parry in their preliminary round match.
The colourful Scotsman followed the entertaining walk-on routines with an excellent performance, in which he produced fantastic finishes of 131 and 141.
Hendriks took out a 156 finish to win one of his two legs, but saw the second set slip from his grasp as the 2014 finalist progressed in style.
"I needed to pull out the big finishes to keep him quiet," said Wright, who will return after Christmas to take on Jamie Lewis in the second round.
"He was fantastic. I watched his match earlier and he played really well and enjoyed himself so I was happy to get the win.
"It could be my year. You never know how it's going to go but I think that if I don't win it this year I will win it next year."
Former Lakeside Champion Beaton also progressed comfortably, defeating South Africa's Devon Petersen by three sets to one.
The highlight of Beaton's victory was an eye-catching bullseye finish to complete a 124 combination as he moved into the last 32.
"I was doing really well and then I switched off a bit so I was pleased to finish the job," said Beaton, who reached the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay earlier this year.
"I'd love to have a run here like I did in Blackpool. I've never really had a good year at Ally Pally so I'd love to have one this year. The crowd really get behind me and to give them something back would be fantastic."
Clayton enjoyed victory in his first World Championship appearance at the expense of his Welsh compatriot Gerwyn Price.
The 42-year-old, who is in just his second year as a professional, came from a set behind to beat number 19 seed Price 3-1.
"This is the greatest moment of my career so far," said Clayton, who produced checkouts of 116 and 120.
"I hope it goes on because I really enjoyed it. It was hard against one of my mates but I'm chuffed to bits and looking forward to the next round."
Saturday sees the first double session of the £1.65 million tournament, with Benito van de Pas and Terry Jenkins both appearing in the afternoon before number one seed Michael van Gerwen joins the action in the evening against either Ross Snook or Kim Viljanen.
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William Hill World Darts Championship
Friday December 16
Jerry Hendriks 2-0 Warren Parry (P)
Gerwyn Price (19) 1-3 Jonny Clayton
Steve Beaton (27) 3-1 Devon Petersen
Peter Wright (3) 3-0 Jerry Hendriks
Preliminary Round - Best of three sets
First Round - Best of five sets
LIVE STATS
Follow live stats & see match stats throughout the event via the official PDC Live Scores website - CLICK HERE
MATCH UPDATES
Jerry Hendriks 2-0 Warren Parry (P)
1-0 (3-2)
The first four legs were shared to force a decider, in which Parry missed double 12 for a 141 finish before Hendriks pinned double 19 for the set.
2-0 (3-2)
Finishes of 102 and 67 put Parry in pole position but Hendriks hit back, reeling off the following three legs to book his place in the first round. 
Gerwyn Price (19) 1-3 Jonny Clayton
1-0 (3-2)
The first four legs went with the throw and that trend looked set to continue until Clayton missed four darts to win the set, allowing Price to snatch it on double five.
1-1 (2-3)
Clayton took a 2-0 lead but missed four set darts in the third leg and a further five in the fourth before finally levelling the match with a 116 checkout.
1-2 (1-3)
Clayton took out 120 and doubled his lead but Price won the following leg on tops. Clayton then landed the same double to move a set ahead.
1-3 (1-3)
A 108 finish helped Clayton open up a two-leg lead. Price won the next leg but his fellow Welshman finished the job on double seven to knock out the number 19 seed.
Jonny Clayton Video Interview
"I'll never forget this moment!" - @JonnyClay9 is into the second round and is loving every moment of the #WHDarts World Championship
PDC Darts 
Steve Beaton (27) 3-1 Devon Petersen
1-0 (3-0)
Both players hit 180s but it was straightforward for Beaton, who reeled off three straight legs to move in front.
1-1 (0-3)
Petersen landed double 12, double top and took out 100 to take three consecutive legs and restore parity.
2-1 (3-2)
Petersen broke Beaton's throw in the first leg but the former Lakeside Champion responded with 124 checkout on the bull. He then edged ahead on double 16 but Petersen levelled. Beaton took the set though by cleaning up 73.
3-1 (3-0)
Beaton closed out a fairly comfortable victory as he took three successive legs to move safely into the last 32.
Steve Beaton Video Interview
WATCH
| Steve Beaton in defiant mood after his first round victory against Devon Petersen. #WHDarts
Peter Wright (3) 3-0 Jerry Hendriks
1-0 (3-0)
There was no trouble for Wright in the opener as he finished 60, 78 and 28 to take the first set without dropping a leg.
2-0 (3-2)
Hendriks got a leg on the board with a brilliant 156 checkout, only to see Wright respond by taking out 131. After the next two legs went with the throw, Wright took out a fabulous 141 finish to double his lead.
3-0 (3-0)
Wright finished 60, 52 and 64 to complete an impressive first round display, averaging 101 to move through and meet Jamie Lewis in round two after Christmas.
Peter Wright Video Interview
The EVER confident @SnakebiteWright after his first round win at the 2016/17 #WHDarts