Stoke's Ricardo Fuller battles for the ball with Wigan's Emmerson Boyce
Stoke extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to three games as they frustrated a more adventurous Wigan to secure a goalless draw.
Neither side impressed in the first half with a Jason Koumas free-kick, which sailed into the stands, the nearest either team came to scoring.
After the break, Emile Heskey was inches wide with a downward header.
Stoke had Thomas Sorensen to thank for the point as he saved a Wilson Palacios strike from six yards with his feet.
When a team with the worst away record in the league visits a side with the poorest home record then, even three days after bonfire night, the most optimistic would probably have predicted a damp squib of a game.
And they would have been right - even though the final 30 minutes of the match was a dramatic improvement on what had gone before it.
Pulis credits 'smashing' defence
Wigan restricted Rory Delap to a handful of throw-ins, which posed little problems to the home defence, and had it not been for the unbeatable Sorensen, Steve Bruce's men would have secured their second win of the season at the JJB Stadium.
The lack of sparkle in the first 45 minutes was summed up when, five minutes from the break, Mario Melchiot was penalised for a foul throw five metres from Stoke's corner flag.
Other than Koumas's 25th-minute free-kick, the anticipation of Melchiot's throw-in generated the most excitement in the stadium.
Wigan were the better side, but the hosts lacked cutting-edge, and a bit of luck, in the final third.
Stoke soaked up the pressure, getting men behind the ball once the home side entered enemy territory, and hit hopeful long balls to Ricardo Fuller, their most potent outlet.
After the break, Heskey had the best chance of the match but the 57th-minute header proved to be his final contribution as a hamstring injury prematurely ended the England striker's participation.
Heskey's replacement, Henri Camara, nearly made an immediate impact with a glancing header, but it trickled away for Wigan's first corner of the match.
Bruce apologises for dour game
Wigan were enjoying almost all of the possession and in the 78th minute Sorensen was forced into a double save, first stopping Palacios and then parrying away Titus Bramble's follow-up shot.
Koumas, who had been uncharacteristically profligate on the final ball on a number of occasions, forced Sorensen into action again with a menacing drive.
But, no matter how hard Wigan huffed and puffed they could not get the better of a resolute Stoke side who held on for only their second point away from the Britannia Stadium this season.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce: "Credit to Stoke because they had two banks of four and we could not break them down.
"After the break we lifted the tempo but then we were worried about being hit on the break.
"We needed one of our flair players to produce a bit of magic but it did not happen.
"I think it will be the last game on Match of the Day and rightly so because it was not a classic."
Stoke boss Tony Pulis: "We were smashing defensively. The only disappointing thing was that we had the chance to break on a couple of occasions but gave the ball away cheaply.
"In the last 10 minutes they threw everything at us but we got blocks and a point is a fantastic result. We have to keep putting in performances like these.
"They have thrown their lives down for the cause."
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