RONNIE BAXTER and Bob Anderson were the biggest casualties from the third day of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, losing to qualifiers Ray Carver and Andy Hamilton.
Baxter, the number three seed, came from two sets down to take his clash with American star Carver into a decider, but paid the price for two missed doubles to win the match.
Carver stepped in to win the tie break 5-3, and admitted: "It's incredible. It was a great game and I'm overwhelmed to have gone through."
Stoke qualifier Hamilton gained revenge for a quarter-final defeat to Anderson in last year's tournament with a 3-2 win of his own, edging the former World Champion in another tie break.
Mark Dudbridge, the beaten finalist 12 months ago, overcame his nerves to defeat American Darin Young 3-0, with number six seed Wayne Mardle winning 3-1 against Australian Brian Roach.
Earlier in the day, Denis Ovens, Dennis Priestley, Terry Jenkins and Matt Clark all booked a place in the second round.
Jenkins also needed a tie break before seeing off Circus Tavern debutant Jimmy Mann 3-2 in the best game of this year's tournament so far.
Priestley was also in good form to see of John Magowan and set up a clash with second favourite Adrian Lewis, while Ovens defeated Northern Ireland's Geoff Wylie and Clark saw off Canadian Ken Woods.
Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship First Round
Day Three - Afternoon Session
Denis Ovens 3-1 Geoff Wylie - Report
Dennis Priestley 3-1 John Magowan - Report
Terry Jenkins 3-2 Jimmy Mann - Report
Matt Clark 3-0 Ken Woods - Report
Evening Session
Bob Anderson 2-3 Andrew Hamilton - Report
Wayne Mardle 3-1 Brian Roach - Report
Mark Dudbridge 3-0 Darin Young - Report
Ronnie Baxter 2-3 Ray Carver - Report
Highlights from previous days and audio interviews can be found here
Wayne "Hawaii 501" Mardle warmed up for his opening clash with Brian Roach with a quick surf at Southend beach - braving the winter temperatures!