Fermanagh’s Brendan Dolan is out of the World Darts Championship after losing his first-round tie against Robert Thornton at the Alexandra Palace.
Dolan had earlier won through his preliminary round clash with Croatia’s Alan Ljubic, winning the final five legs in a 2-0 win.
But the world number 36 found the going too tough against Thornton, the 2015 Grand Prix champion, currently 28 in the order of merit.
The Scot took the first set, 3-2, against the throw but Dolan responded with a stunning display of outshots – he won three legs on the bounce with three ton-plus finishes to make it 1-1.
YES ANOTHER TON+ FROM DOLAN!!#WHDarts #LoveTheDarts pic.twitter.com/KFtvdNFOqc
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 16, 2017
But that was as good as it got for the History Maker as Thornton claimed the next two sets for a 3-1 win.
World Grand Prix winner Daryl Gurney is the next Irish player in action.
The Derry man faces Ronny Huybrechts on Monday, while debutant Steve Lennon from Carlow will play Michael Smith on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, there were two shocks early on day three as Benito van de Pas and Mervyn King were dumped out.
World number 14 Van de Pas was beaten 3-1 by Steve West, his opponent sealing the win with a 141 checkout, one of three ton-plus finishes during the afternoon.
Zoran Lerchbacker did for King, the world number 22, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2.
LERCHBACHER WINS | Merv King slips from a 2-0 lead to eventually crash out of this year's William Hill World Darts Championship #WHDarts #LoveTheDarts pic.twitter.com/BFLqLweaaE
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 16, 2017
Later on, Gary Anderson eased into the second round of the William Hill World Darts Championship after beating qualifier Jeff Smith 3-0 at Alexandra Palace.
The Flying Scotsman, who was a losing finalist to most recent winner and this year's favourite Michael van Gerwen, raced to victory in the first set before taking the second with a stunning 131.93 average.
The third set went with the throw until Anderson claimed a break in the third game to throw for the match before surviving a huge let-off to win with double three.
"Michael took it off me last year and I would like to do the same to him this year," Anderson told Sky Sports Main Event after the match.
"I want it back so I'm going to have to try now. I've got a new baby and everything is good and I want to get back on it now."
Jan Dekker shocked Dutch compatriot Jelle Klaasen after recovering from a slow start to win 3-1. Klaasen raced to a first set advantage with three rapid-fire legs before Dekker levelled at 1-1 after a much more evenly-matched second set.
He then moved ahead in the match before Klaasen levelled, but Dekker moved into the next round thanks to a double 16 finish.
There were two shocks early on day three as Benito van de Pas and Mervyn King were both dumped out in the afternoon session.
World number 14 Van de Pas was beaten 3-1 by Steve West, his opponent sealing the win with a 141 checkout, one of three ton-plus finishes during the afternoon.
Zoran Lerchbacker did for King, the world number 22, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2.
Robert Thornton beat qualifier Brendan Dolan 3-1 while in the evening session Jermaine Wattimena defeated Joe Cullen 3-2 after a closely-fought match.
