DEFENDING champion James Wade was dumped out of the Blue Square UK Open with a 9-8 loss to Peter Manley on Friday night.
Wade had picked up the biggest pay-day of his career by winning £125,000 at the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts play-offs just ten days ago - but leaves Bolton with just £1,000 after relinquishing his title.
The world number two led 3-1 early on only for Manley to hit back and move 5-3 and 8-5 up.
Wade responded superbly to stay in the game, winning three successive legs to force a decider - only to miss double top for the win before Manley hit the same bed for victory.
Manley now meets former Lakeside Champion Mark Webster in Saturday afternoon's fourth round, after the left-hander made winning debut in the UK Open with a 9-6 win over Peter Wright.
"I've dropped out of the world's top 16 and it's such a hard circuit now, so I need to do well here and I've beaten the defending champion," said Manley.
"It's a win that means so much to me."
Earlier in the night, two-time UK Open champion Phil Taylor powered past Manchester's Lee Williams, who was making his televised debut but succumbed to a 9-1 loss.
Taylor will now meet Ken Mather in the last 32, after the Holsten Qualifier from Salford defeated Paul Nicholson 9-7 in a thriller.
"I only entered the qualifiers for fun and it's been incredible so far," said Mather, who had won three games on Thursday night just to reach the last 64.
"After beating Paul Nicholson I was just hoping to draw Phil or Raymond van Barneveld and it's what dreams are made of. Phil's the best in the world and I'll just enjoy myself and try to play my game, and who knows what will happen?"
Raymond van Barneveld, the 2006 and 2007 UK Open champion, overcame Middlesbrough's Ken Dobson 9-4 and has drawn Stoke's Andy Hamilton - who the Dutchman defeated in the last 16 a year ago.
Hamilton impressed with a 9-4 win over Michael van Gerwen, while fellow Stoke stars Adrian Lewis and Mark Frost overcame Robert Thornton and Co Stompe respectively to progress.
Lewis will now face in-form Mark Walsh, who knocked out Wayne Mardle 9-2, while Frost drew two-time World Champion Dennis Priestley.
Colin Lloyd ended three-time World Champion John Part's hopes with a 9-8 victory and meets Chris Thompson, a quarter-finalist last year, in the fourth round.
Premier League Darts runner-up Mervyn King joined Wade in falling at the third round stage in Bolton, losing 9-8 to Romford's Michael Barnard, who was left in tears after arguably the biggest win of his career.
Telford's Andy Roberts joined Mather as one of the last two remaining Holsten Qualifiers, knocking out Louis Blundell 9-7 to set up a meeting with Alex Roy on Saturday.
Blue Square UK Open
Third Round Results
Board One
Michael van Gerwen 4-9 Andy Hamilton
Adrian Lewis 9-2 Robert Thornton
Lee Williams 1-9 Phil Taylor
Peter Manley 9-8 James Wade
Glen Durrant 1-9 Terry Jenkins
Board Two
Denis Ovens 3-9 Alan Tabern
Mark Walsh 9-2 Wayne Mardle
Colin Lloyd 9-8 John Part
Raymond van Barneveld 9-4 Ken Dobson
Board Three
Ronnie Baxter 9-7 Tony Eccles
Barrie Bates 3-9 Steve Grubb
Roland Scholten 9-6 Darren Johnson
Andy Roberts 9-7 Louis Blundell
Board Four
Gary Welding 9-5 Steve Hine
Ken Mather 9-7 Paul Nicholson
Kevin Painter 9-4 Dave Askew
Dennis Priestley 9-4 Colin Monk
Board Five
Mark Dudbridge 9-7 Johnny Haines
Co Stompe 6-9 Mark Frost
Dave Honey 5-9 Wes Newton
Mark Webster 9-6 Peter Wright
Board Six
Colin Osborne 9-2 Jason Clark
Alex Roy 9-5 Lionel Sams
Jan van der Rassel 7-9 Jelle Klaasen
Andy Smith 9-3 Chris Cooper
Board Seven
Steve Dolan 1-9 Jamie Caven
Andy Jenkins 9-5 Justin Pipe
Brendan Dolan 7-9 Kevin McDine
Mervyn King 8-9 Michael Barnard
Board Eight
Vincent van der Voort 6-9 Wayne Jones
Steve Brown 8-9 Mark Lawrence
Paul Rowley 1-9 Chris Thompson
Fourth Round Draw & Order of Play - 1pm Saturday
Board One
Peter Manley v Mark Webster
Andy Hamilton v Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor v Ken Mather
Mark Walsh v Adrian Lewis
Board Two
Colin Osborne v Wayne Jones
Jamie Caven v Jelle Klaasen
Kevin McDine v Alan Tabern
Andy Jenkins v Terry Jenkins
Board Three
Michael Barnard v Andy Smith
Dennis Priestley v Mark Frost
Steve Grubb v Kevin Painter
Wes Newton v Roland Scholten
Board Four
Gary Welding v Ronnie Baxter
Alex Roy v Andy Roberts
Colin Lloyd v Chris Thompson
Mark Lawrence v Mark Dudbridge
Round-by-Round Updates
First Set of Games
Jamie Caven, the winner of the Welsh Regional Final a month ago, powers past Holsten Qualifier Steve Dolan 9-1.
Colin Osborne picks up 9-2 win over Jason Clark as a second Londoner tastes defeat.
St Helens duo Alan Tabern and Gary Welding progress with victories against Denis Ovens and Steve Hine respectively.
Wayne Jones defeats 2007 runner-up Vincent van der Voort 9-6 to progress to Saturday's fourth round.
Andy Hamilton wins the opening game on the main stage, defeating Michael van Gerwen 9-4 after the Dutch youngster battled back from an early 5-0 deficit.
Mark Dudbridge edges out Johnny Haines 9-7 - with the game being keenly fought before Dudbridge broke in the 15th leg to lead for the first time and then close out victory.
Ronnie Baxter edged past Tony Eccles 9-7 to progress.
Second Set of Games
In-form Mark Walsh ends Wayne Mardle's hopes with a comprehensive 9-2 victory, averaging over 100 to progress to round four.
Alex Roy continued his good start to the UK Open with 9-5 win over Lionel Sams.
Adrian Lewis began his challenge with a superb 9-2 victory against Robert Thornton, checking out 45 percent of his doubles.
Salford's Ken Mather, a Holsten Qualifier, comes from 5-1 down to win 9-7 against Paul Nicholson and win his place in the last 32.
Steve Grubb, a World Championship qualifier, reaches the last 32 for the first time in a TV event by seeing off Barrie Bates 9-3.
Andy Jenkins holds on from leadin 5-0 to win 9-5 against Justin Pipe.
Mark Lawrence came from 5-2 down against Steve Brown before taking a 9-8 victory in the deciding leg.
Mark Frost is another comeback winner, having trailed 4-2 and 6-5 before taking four successive legs for a 9-6 victory.
Third Set of Games
Phil Taylor averaged over 103.5 in taking a 9-1 win over Lee Williams. Taylor led 7-0 before the qualifier from Manchester, in his first TV event, got off the mark, but the world number one swiftly sealed victory.
Colin Lloyd came from 4-2 and 7-4 down against John Part before booking his fourth round spot in a deciding leg thriller with the Canadian.
Roland Scholten also battled from behind, finding himself 3-0 and 5-3 down against Darren Johnson before winning 9-6.
Kevin Painter and Wes Newton picked up wins against Dave Askew and Dave Honey to progress, while Jelle Klaasen was victorious in the all-Dutch battle with Jan van der Rassel.
Klaasen trailed 3-0 and 7-6 before taking the next three legs for victory.
Chris Thompson, a quarter-finalist in last year's UK Open, powered past Holsten Qualifier Paul Rowley 9-1.
Kevin McDine edged out Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan 9-7 to progress, having trailed 6-5 in a tight battle before winning four of the final five legs.
Fourth Round of Games
Defending champion James Wade was dumped out of the competition in a deciding leg thriller with Peter Manley. Wade led 3-1 before Manley took the advantage at 5-3 and 8-5, only to be pegged back. But Wade missed one dart at double top for the win and Manley hit the same bed to progress.
Raymond van Barneveld avoided a scare against Ken Dobson, who led 2-1 early on before succumbing to a 9-4 defeat.
Holsten Qualifier Andy Roberts followed up wins over Anastasia Dobromyslova and Steve Beaton with a 9-7 victory against Louis Blundell to progress to join fellow amateur Ken Mather in the fourth round.
Former World Champion Mark Webster made a winning Bolton debut with a 9-6 win over Peter Wright.
Andy Smith progressed to the last 32 with 9-3 defeat of Worksop's Chris Cooper.
Dennis Priestley made a winning start to his challenge for a first UK Open title with a 9-4 win over Colin Monk.
Terry Jenkins powered past Holsten Qualifier Glen Durrant with a 9-1 victory.
Michael Barnard was left in tears after seeing off world number four Mervyn King 9-8 for arguably the biggest result of his career. The duo were locked together for much of the game, with Barnard missing one dart for a 9-7 win before landing double 18 in the decider.