Josh Rock has progressed through to the PDC World Championship third round with victory over Rhys Griffin.
With his Welsh opponent having impressed during the first round, the 18th seed was aware that he could ill-afford a below-par performance if he wanted to breeze through in style.
Although he averaged just in excess of 87, Rock allowed Griffin to win just two legs from 10 double opportunities throughout the contest.
The Northern Irishman improved as the match progressed, averaging 98 in the third as he set up a showdown with Chris Dobey.
ROCK RACES THROUGH!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 23, 2024
Josh Rock moves safely through to the last 32 at the World Championship, securing a convincing straight-sets victory over Rhys Griffin!
📺 https://t.co/pIQvhqYxEj#WCDarts | R2 pic.twitter.com/i790RNAQ1K
What else happened on Monday afternoon?
Seventh seed Jonny Clayton battled back from trailing 2-0 in the deciding set of his match with Mickey Mansell to prevail in a sudden-death leg.
Mansell's outstanding finishing had kept him in the match with 136 and 154 checkouts particular highlights, but Clayton averaged eight points more than his opponent and deserves his spot in the next round.
Former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding earned his place in the last 32 with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over recent Grand Slam of Darts finalist Martin Lukeman.
Once Lukeman had raced to the second set to level the match, it appeared that it would be one-way traffic, but 21st seed Gilding roared back with five successive legs to move one way from the match.
Despite squandering five match darts, Gilding's six 180s ultimately put himself in a strong position and he got over the line with a 92.65 average to set up a meeting with Nathan Aspinall.
In the first match of the day, Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski overcame the awkward style of Alexis Toylo to prevail by a 3-1 scoreline, averaging 95.32 in the process.
Darren Plant
