Darts: Smith breaks his first-round jinx by putting Shane in shade at the Palace

Andy SMITH ended his first-round jinx at the PDC Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship with victory over Australia's Shane Tichowitsch at Alexandra Palace.

Smith had crashed out in the opening round of the past three tournaments but sealed his passage following an entertaining battle 3-1. The 27th seed needed to hit six 180s along the way to snuff out the challenge of the 93rd-ranked Tichowitsch, who had threatened a surprise after levelling the match at 1-1.

Sixth seed Mervyn King will face Smith after concluding the night with a clinical 3-0 win over Magnus Caris.

The Swede had beaten Dietmar Burger in the preliminary round earlier in the day but won only two legs as King racked up 13 scores of 140 or more and maintained an average of 94.

He could even afford a bizarre start to the third leg of the match, which saw his first dart find treble 20 before the subsequent two both struck it and rebounded to the floor.

A 136 finish ensured King will return to the Palace after Christmas for round two.

Tenth seed Mark Walsh also dropped a set before he booked his place in the second round with victory over Justin Pipe.

Walsh had looked on course for a comfortable night when he won the opening two sets, before he was beaten 0-3 in the third. But the 2005 UK Open finalist immediately bounced back to set up a last-32 meeting with Alan Tabern.

Veteran Dennis Priestley beat Germany's Bernd Roith 3-0.

The 60-year-old, who won the title in 1994, lost the opening leg before reeling off the next nine to book a second-round meeting with 11th seed Gary Anderson.