In a night of mixed fortunes for Team Unicorn, Raymond van Barneveld edged out Andy Hamilton in an 11-leg thriller at the PartyPoker.net European Championship on Friday night, but seeds James Wade and Adrian Lewis crashed out of the event in Dinslaken, Germany.
Dutch star van Barneveld followed up last week's run to the final of the World Matchplay in Blackpool with a gritty display in his opener in Dinslaken.
Van Barneveld took the opening two legs before Hamilton won four in a row to lead 4-2, only to see the five-time World Champion produce some superb darts in taking four of the final five for victory.
"I had a tough week in the World Matchplay but this is another big tournament for all of us and this is a good start," said van Barneveld. "I had a tough draw and it's great to get through it."
Van Barneveld will meet Germany's Bernd Roith in the second round on Saturday, after the newcomer celebrated his TV debut with a 6-4 defeat of Denis Ovens.
Another German, Tomas Seyler, suffered defeat in his clash with Michael van Gerwen, who returned from a month on the sidelines with a broken collarbone to take a 6-4 win.
Two seeded players joined Seyler, Hamilton and Ovens in exiting the tournament on Friday, with James Wade going down to Colin Lloyd and Adrian Lewis slumping to a 6-3 loss against Wayne Jones.
Lewis produced one of his most disappointing televised displays in his loss to in-form Jones, while Wade was defeated 6-4 by Colin Lloyd, who held his nerve after the world number three came from 4-2 down to level.
Scotland's Robert Thornton bounced back from his whitewash in the World Matchplay's first round with a 6-4 win over Mark Dudbridge, and he now faces Jones in the second round.
Wins for Fleetwood's Wes Newton and Blackpool's Ronnie Baxter over Colin Osborne and Alan Tabern saw them set up a local derby in the last 16, with Baxter taking out 126 on the bullseye in a deciding leg to progress.
Photo courtesy Chris Sargeant