James Wade came through a tough 10-7 battle against Jermaine Wattimena to reach the second round of the World Matchplay at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens on his 20th appearance. The 2007 champion, who has been runner-up six times, admitted he was “rubbish” but slowed the pace to secure victory. He will face Ryan Searle, who defeated William O’Connor 10-6 after leading 6-1.

Gian van Veen produced a confidence-boosting 10-6 win over Krzysztof Ratajski, hitting two 144 checkouts and a 160 finish. The world No. 3 said his finishing carried him through. He meets Wessel Nijman, who converted his floor form with a 10-5 win over Dave Chisnall, taking the first four legs and closing with a 108 checkout.

Gary Anderson delivered his best Winter Gardens performance, averaging nearly 110 in a 10-2 thrashing of Ryan Joyce. Michael van Gerwen ground out a 10-6 win over Andrew Gilding, while Jonny Clayton held off Damon Heta 10-7. Chris Dobey missed four match darts in a 13-11 loss to Dirk van Duijvenbode. Monday’s session features Ross Smith vs Kevin Doets, Gerwyn Price vs Martin Schindler, Luke Humphries vs Cameron Menzies, and Danny Noppert vs Rob Cross.