Lewis scrapes through at Ally Pally

Reigning world champion Adrian Lewis staged a great escape to overcome undertaker Nigel Heydon on the opening night of the PDC World Championships at Alexandra Palace.

Lewis looked to be heading home early as he trailed Heydon 2-0 in the best-of-five showdown, then stood just one leg from defeat with the pair locked together at 2-2 in the third.

Lewis pulled back to level after Heydon missed five darts at a double which would have left him throwing for the match, then had to battle back from a break down to force a tie-break.

The pair swapped breaks in the first two tie-break legs before an 11-dart leg by Lewis put him one leg from victory. Lewis finally took his chance to wrap up his nailbiting 3-2 victory.

Veteran Dutchman Roland Scholten continued his comeback from a serious shoulder injury as he got the competition under way with a 3-1 win over Derby's Jamie Caven.

Richie Burnett won a nailbiting all-Welsh battle with Mark Webster, taking the decisive leg 4-2 on a tie-break after Webster had missed five darts at doubles to level the match.