PDC World Darts Championship
Venue: Alexandra Palace, London Dates: 16 December-3 January
Coverage: Live on Sky Sports, reports and results on BBC Sport website  Taylor missed a host of doubles on his way to a far-from-impressive victory
An out-of-sorts Phil Taylor kicked off the defence of his PDC World title with a 3-0 win over American qualifier Gary Mawson to move into the second round. "The Power", chasing a 16th world crown, was far from his best but still had too much for Mawson. Taylor threw a modest three-dart average of 88.49 and was fortunate not to meet a more formidable opponent. Elsewhere, former Lakeside champion Steve Beaton made a shock exit thanks to a 3-2 loss to qualifier Mark Hylton. Hylton, the current world number 90 and making his PDC World Championship debut, led 1-0 and 2-1 before snatching the final set to pinch the glory.  | People say my career is finished and maybe they're right. But then again, maybe they're not |
And had Taylor not met Mawson, who won through a preliminary-round match-up with Juanito Gionson of the Phillippines 4-1 to secure a match with the darts legend, he could have suffered a similar fate to that of Beaton. "It's been a funny night but it's just one of them things," Taylor told Sky Sports. "Gary wasn't firing, neither was I - and it was putting both of us off. "I'm not used to throwing averages like that, that's for sure. People say my career is finished and maybe they're right. But then again, maybe they're not. "I have no idea why I played like that. My daughter's given birth prematurely this week and yes I've got a lot of my plate with the BBC sports personality of the year. Sometimes you can be a victim of your own success. "But I'm used to it, I can't use that as an excuse, and I've won 3-0, that's the main thing. "I'm not going to dwell on it, I'm going to get ready for the next round. There's no doubt in my mind about my challenge here, though, none." | 606: DEBATE |
Players champion Paul Nicholson, meanwhile, eased through with a 3-0 win over Steve Farmer, losing only three legs. Newcastle-born Nicholson, who beat Taylor at the semi-final stage to win this year's Players Championship, cruised through the early legs and only in the final set did Farmer respond with a 161 checkout to take it to a deciding leg. Nicholson responded by checking out with 140, though, to book his place in the last 32. Former Lakeside champion Mark Webster, meanwhile, held off a late but futile rally from Steve Maish to also book his place in the second round. The Welshman won eight consecutive legs before Englishman Maish responded with two of his own, only for Webster to win the crucial final leg to secure a 3-0 (3-0 3-0 3-2) victory.
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