Rob Cross and Peter Wright were among the five players to reach the last 16 of the 2019 BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts on Monday at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, alongside qualifier Ryan Harrington.
Day Three of the cross-code event saw the final eight group matches take place in Groups E-H, with Cross surviving a scare from Jamie Hughes in the game of the night.
World Matchplay champion Cross led 4-1 and seemed to be coasting through to the knockout phase, but seven missed match darts across two legs allowed Hughes to take the Group E game to a last-leg decider.
Hughes kicked off the decider with a 180 but failed to hit a treble with his next 12 darts, and Cross took full advantage to win 5-4 and set up a mouth-watering last 16 clash with Peter Wright.
"I've not been sharp all through the group stage," conceded Cross, the number two seed.
"I got away with it again today, which is a blessing, but I know I've got to be much better than that. I can't keep switching off against capable players.
"Nothing has gone to plan this week, I'll be glad to see the back of that group stage and now I've got to improve on Wednesday or I'm going to lose."
Wright, who knew he needed a win against World Series Finals runner-up Danny Noppert to secure qualification, claimed a convincing 5-2 victory which saw him qualify and top Group F, meaning Ryan Harrington had to beat Wayne Warren to progress.
Harrington's dream debut continued with a 5-1 demolition of the Welsh BDO representative and the qualifier shared an emotional moment with his father and two-time World Matchplay champion Rod on stage after the biggest win of his career.
"That's got to be one of the hardest games I've ever played in my life," admitted the 29-year-old.
"It was so scary tonight, I felt really nervous but it was fantastic playing in front of this amazing crowd again, I'm thankful for their support.
"I wouldn't be up here trying to be a professional if I didn't think I could achieve what my dad has on stage. I wouldn't do it if I didn't think I could beat the best."
Meanwhile, proud father Rod revealed the stresses of watching from the sidelines.
"There was a little tear in my eye, I must admit," said the former world number one. "I've never been so nervous, much more so than when I was playing because then it's in your own hands.
"Now I know what my wife and family went through all these years! Whatever Ryan achieves in this sport will mean more to me than anything I ever did."
Harrington will now meet Dave Chisnall, who topped made it three wins from three with a comfortable 5-1 triumph over Lisa Ashton to top Group F.
Daryl Gurney hit finishes of 161 and 101 in a 5-2 success over Northern Irish World Cup partner Brendan Dolan to take victory in their Group G shoot-out.
"It was a bit of a struggle, when I'm playing Brendan I find it hard to be aggressive which is my natural game," Gurney admitted.
"A bit of patience got me through the game, my tons eventually turned into 140s and I hit some big shots at crucial moments.
"I'm just relieved to get over the line and now I can look ahead to the rest of the tournament."
Gurney will now meet Michael Smith in the last 16 after the World Championship runner-up came back from 3-0 down to beat already-eliminated German Martin Schindler to top Group H.
The final game of the night saw a Group H shoot-out between Glen Durrant and Nathan Aspinall, with Durrant whitewashing the UK Open champion 5-0 in a scrappy affair to progress alongside Smith.
"I'm standing here disappointed with a 5-0 win over one of the best players in the world," said Durrant.
"An 86 average is nowhere near where I want to be, it's nowhere near the level I'm practicing at and I know I'm much better than that.
"For a lot of the game I was thinking 'maybe I should be out of the tournament already' but I've somehow made it through and now I've got to take my chance."
Durrant will now take on in-form German Gabriel Clemens, who averaged 110.27 in an outstanding 5-2 demolition of already-eliminated Dutchman Richard Veenstra to top Group G.
Monday night’s winners will return to the stage on Wednesday to play in their last 16 ties.
Tuesday will see the final group games in Groups A-D take place, with Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson among the players in action, while Adrian Lewis and Jim Williams face a winner-takes-all shoot-out in Group A.
Day Four will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, on PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7.
BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts
Monday November 11
Groups E-H Final Matches
Gabriel Clemens 5-2 Richard Veenstra (G)
Michael Smith 5-4 Martin Schindler (H)
Dave Chisnall 5-1 Lisa Ashton (E)
Daryl Gurney 5-2 Brendan Dolan (G)
Peter Wright 5-2 Danny Noppert (F)
Ryan Harrington 5-1 Wayne Warren (F)
Rob Cross 5-4 Jamie Hughes (E)
Glen Durrant 5-0 Nathan Aspinall (H)
Tuesday November 12 (1900 GMT)
Groups A-D Final Matches
Ian White v Wesley Harms (B)
James Wade v Steve Lennon (B)
Michael van Gerwen v Ross Smith (A)
Robert Thornton v Mikuru Suzuki (C)
Gerwyn Price v Dimitri Van den Bergh (C)
William O'Connor v Dave Parletti (D)
Gary Anderson v Darren Webster (D)
Adrian Lewis v Jim Williams (A)
Wednesday November 13 (1900 GMT)
Second Round x4
Dave Chisnall v Ryan Harrington
Gabriel Clemens v Glen Durrant
Michael Smith v Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright v Rob Cross
Thursday November 14 (1900 GMT)
Second Round x4
Groups A-D Qualifiers
Friday November 15 (1900 GMT)
Quarter-Finals x2
Saturday November 16 (2000 GMT)
Quarter-Finals x2
Sunday November 17
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Final