Wayne "Hawaii 5-0" Mardle rounded off day one of the Players Championship with a sensational comeback win against Mark Walsh.
The local favourite looked dead and buried at the break at 4-1 down - but stormed back to claim five unanswered legs and book his place in the second round.
Mardle didn't miss a dart at a double after the break until the final leg - and wrapped things up with double eight to send the Circus Tavern crowd wild, capping off a brilliant first day of action.
In the first match of the evening, Kevin "The Artist" Painter fought back from 5-2 down to claim a thrilling 6-5 victory against Alex Roy.
Painter had managed a slick 14-dart finish in the third leg to lead 2-1, but Roy levelled before storming into a three-leg lead, including a high-class 114 finish in the seventh.
But "The Artist" was not to be denied, and eventually broke his opponent's throw with a stunning 105 finish to make it 5-5 and force a deciding leg.
And Painter brushed Roy aside in the eleventh leg, wrapping things up with double eight.
"At the break I was 3-2 down but should have been 4-1 up and I took heart from that," said Painter. "At 5-2 I thought I was gone but I kept plugging away and right at the death the pressure told."
No 3 seed Alan Tabern led throughout his 6-3 dismantling of an under-par Adrian Lewis before Andy Hamilton breezed past Peter Manley 6-2.
World No 2 James Wade - who memorably hit a nine-darter at the Grand Slam of Darts last November - was behind against Steve Beaton and looked out of sorts, but as so often he produced the goods when it mattered.
Beaton had a chance to go 3-1 up but missed it, and the UK Open Champion then took control and eventually took the match 6-2 - finishing things off with a monster 126 checkout.
Robert Thornton then edged out Mark Dudbridge in an exciting encounter that owed its tension to a lot of missed doubles. Dudbridge had led 3-2 and had opportunites to break the throw for 4-2.
At 5-5 and in the deciding leg, Thornton grabbed the initative with scores of 140 and 180 (his fourth maximum of the match). He nailed double top to book a second-round meeting with Alan Tabern.
Then Phil "The Power" Taylor took the stage and he did not disappoint, averaging 108 across his 6-3 win over Dutchman Michael van Gerwen.
Another titan of darts, Raymond van Barneveld, then took to the stage and he held off the challenge of Andy Jenkins to win 6-4 and progress to the second round.
In the evening's penultimate match, Denis Ovens looked distinctly undercooked as he fell 6-3 to Canadian legend John Part, who was unerring on the doubles while not having to produce anything like his best darts.
Evening session results:
Kevin Painter 6-5 Alex Roy
Alan Tabern 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Andy Hamilton 6-2 Peter Manley
James Wade 6-2 Steve Beaton
Robert Thornton 6-5 Mark Dudbridge
Phil Taylor 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Andy Jenkins
John Part 6-3 Denis Ovens
Wayne Mardle 6-4 Mark Walsh
