JOSH PAYNE tasted victory at the William Hill World Darts Championship for the first time after defeating Canada's Jeff Smith.

CANADA'S Jim Long enjoyed a victorious William Hill World Darts Championship debut as he saw off Mickey Mansell 3-1 on Saturday.

RICHARD NORTH snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as he completed a dramatic fightback against Robert Marijanovic.

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN began his William Hill World Darts Championship campaign with a 3-1 win over Alan Tabern on Saturday.

GARY ANDERSON began his bid for a third world title with a 3-1 win over Kevin Burness in the second round.

CHRIS DOBEY dropped just two legs in his comfortable 3-0 win over Boris Koltsov in round one.

TED EVETTS secured his first Alexandra Palace victory with a 3-0 triumph over Simon Stevenson in round one.

DANNY NOPPERT reeled off nine successive legs to run out a convincing 3-0 winner over Royden Lam in round one.

JAMIE LEWIS held off a fightback from Cody Harris to move into the third round of the William Hill World Darts Championship.

KEVIN BURNESS sealed a straight sets victory against Paul Nicholson on his William Hill World Championship debut.