LONDON -- Josh Rock booked his place in the second round of the World Darts Championship after battling past Gemma Hayter on Friday.
Rock looked to be cruising through as he raced into a 2-0 set lead, but Hayter upped her game in third set as the Northern Irishman stumbled on the outer ring, halving the deficit as a result.
While Rock -- who many have backed to win the competition -- was not at his best but got over the line after Hayter missed darts to take the match to a decider.
Hayter is the fourth woman to be knocked out in the opening round of this year's tournament. The highly rated Beau Greaves takes on world No. 22 Daryl Gurney in the evening session.
Leonard Gates parties in the Palace
Earlier on Thursday, U.S. marksman Leonard Gates was roared on to a 3-2 win over Mickey Mansell.
After an extravagant walk-on that got the crowd on side and prompted chants of "USA, USA, USA", Gates took the first set with an average of just under 100.
A drop in quality from the American let Mansell back in, but Gates hit a 14-darter against the throw on his way to a 2-1 lead. Mansell made things interesting as he levelled the scores again but Gates romped through the decider, securing his spot in the second round with his fourth match dart.
Elsewhere, Kevin Doets will face Kenyan qualifier David Munyua after beating Matthew Dennant 3-1. Ryan Meikle also eased past Jesis Salate -- the first Argentine to play at the world championship -- with a 3-0 triumph.
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