Reigning world champion Phil Taylor had to dig deep before overcoming the challenge of Wayne Mardle in the PDC World Championship on Wednesday night.

Mardle produced flashes of brilliance, including a 152 checkout in the opening leg, but in the end Taylor's class saw him claim a 5-3 victory at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet.

Taylor took the first two sets and although Mardle won the third, when Taylor went 3-1 up it looked done and dusted for the 10-time world champion.

However, Mardle showed his fighting qualities as he fought his way back to make it three-sets all, before Taylor responded like a true champion and closed it out 5-3.

Battle scars

Taylor admitted it was a tough game and tipped Mardle to have a bright future.

"It was a difficult match," said Taylor. "I gave him too much respect because I didn't really know who he was and he's a young lad coming through.

"He didn't care less about reputations and honestly thought he could knock me out of the tournament.

"I think he'll come back strongly but he's got a couple of battle scars now, so he's got to pick himself up."

Late rally

Earlier Dennis Smith booked his place in the quarter-finals with an impressive 5-1 win over Denis Ovens.

And Alan Warriner lived up to his 'Ice Man' nickname as he fought back from the brink of defeat to clinch his place in the quarter-finals.

The 40-year-old looked to be heading for defeat when he found himself 4-2 down to Les Fitton at one stage.

But he reeled off the next two sets and held his nerve to win an epic decider for a 5-4 success.