PHIL TAYLOR and Robert Thornton both overcame scares before winning through to the quarter-finals of The Coral Masters in Edinburgh, as Michael van Gerwen ended the hopes of home ace Peter Wright on the event's opening night.
World Champion Taylor booked his spot in Saturday's last eight with a hard-fought 6-3 defeat of Terry Jenkins as the £160,000 event began at the Royal Highland Centre.
Taylor opened their contest as he hit a 143 finish to complete a 12-dart leg before doubling his lead, only to see Jenkins - a seven-time major finalist - take out 120 in winning the next three legs to move 3-2 up.
Taylor, though, steadied the ship by winning the sixth leg with a 85 checkout, before taking the next three without reply to move into a quarter-final clash with Wes Newton.
Thornton, meanwhile, overcame some dodgy doubling to win delight the Scottish crowd and see off Andy Hamilton 6-4 in their first round contest.
The Ayrshire ace had had seemed set to crash out of the £160,000 event at the Royal Highland Centre as a string of missed doubles allowed Hamilton to move into a 4-3 lead.
Thornton, though edged a nervy eighth leg before moving ahead 5-4 when Hamilton lost his range on double top and ten, and when the Stoke ace missed his chance to stay in the contest in the next leg, the home favourite hit tops to secure victory.
World number two Michael van Gerwen denied West Lothian-born thrower Peter Wright a dream Edinburgh debut as he picked up a 6-2 victory from their clash.
Wright shared the game's opening two legs, before van Gerwen pulled clear by taking the next four without reply, taking out a superb 136 finish in the process.
The Scot hit back by finishing 125 with a showpiece bullseye, outer bull, bullseye combination, but van Gerwen finished 87 on the middle double in the next to complete a high-quality win with a 103.47 average.
Van Gerwen now plays Dutch rival Raymond van Barneveld in the last eight, after the five-time World Champion enjoyed a 6-3 win over last month's World Grand Prix finalist Dave Chisnall.
Van Barneveld took three of the game's first four legs, and though Chisnall hit an 11-dart as he came back to level, the Dutch star produced legs of 14, 14 and 13 darts to pull through.
"I was really happy with the last three legs and it's a good win because Dave's been in great form, especially in the World Grand Prix," said van Barneveld. "I'm relaxed and looking forward to playing Michael on Saturday.
"We've had so many great matches in the past and this will be good too. I've put myself under too much pressure in the past, but I just want to go out and enjoy my game, which I'm doing."
World number four Simon Whitlock set up a quarter-final date with seven-time major winner James Wade as the pair saw off Mervyn King and Kevin Painter respectively to progress.
Whitlock came from 4-3 down to defeat Mervyn King 6-4, capping a strong display with a 112 finish to take the victory, while Wade showed his class with a gutsy 6-5 win over Kevin Painter, who led 4-2 at one stage but never had a dart for the match.
Fleetwood's Wes Newton was another 6-5 winner as he overcame Justin Pipe in a see-saw game, which saw the Taunton ace hit back from 3-1 down to lead 4-3 at one stage.
Newton hit an 11-darter as he levelled and then moved 5-3 up, with Pipe forcing a decider by completing a 13-dart finish only to see his opponent hit a 180 and double top to claim the win.
European Champion Adrian Lewis was another player to come through an 11-leg thriller in a brilliant contest against in-form Kim Huybrechts, whose hopes of claiming a tournament victory for a third successive weekend were ended with a 6-5 loss.
The game proved a rarity with neither player able to break throw throughout 11 pulsating legs, with Huybrechts missing two darts at tops to win the deciding leg before falling to defeat despite an average of 106.43 as Lewis defied a bout of 'flu to progress.
The Coral Masters
Friday November 1
First Round
James Wade (5) 6-5 Kevin Painter (12)
Wes Newton (8) 6-5 Justin Pipe (9)
Andy Hamilton (6) 4-6 Robert Thornton (11)
Simon Whitlock (4) 6-4 Mervyn King (13)
Adrian Lewis (3) 6-5 Kim Huybrechts (14)
Phil Taylor (1) 6-3 Terry Jenkins (16)
Michael van Gerwen (2) 6-2 Peter Wright (15)
Dave Chisnall (7) 3-6 Raymond van Barneveld (10)
Best of 11 legs
Saturday November 2 (6.45pm)
Quarter-Finals
James Wade v Simon Whitlock
Robert Thornton v Adrian Lewis
Phil Taylor v Wes Newton
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld
Best of 15 legs
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