Simon Whitlock cruised into the second round of the BDO World Championships at Lakeside on Saturday and immediately stated his intention of taking this year's title.
The Australian lost to Welshman Mark Webster in the final 12 months ago and started his quest to go one better with a 3-0 victory over debutant Mark Barilli.
Whitlock told www.lakesideworlddarts.com: "I feel a lot more confident this year after finishing runner-up last year but hope this week to go one better.
"I learn every time I go up on stage - Lakeside is definitely the place to be."
But the going was tougher for top seed Gary Anderson, who just managed to squeeze past Norway's Robert Wagner 3-2.
The Scot, who has lost in the opening round no fewer than five times, found himself 2-1 behind but upped his game at just the right moment to edge through.
Anderson will now play Robert Hughes, the Welsh qualifier causing the first upset of the tournament by beating Australian 16th seed Eddy Sims 3-2.
Sims went 2-1 ahead but his fellow debutant battled back to win, and said: "I really enjoyed that match, in fact it was fantastic and I know I have another chance to go back and play on the Lakeside stage.
"I can play much better and hope I can bring my true form to the stage for my second-round match with Gary."
Meanwhile, ninth seed Tony O'Shea dispatched Sweden's Daniel Larsson 3-0 while fellow Englishman Darryl Fitton, the fifth seed, was an equally emphatic winner over Wales' Mark Salmon.
In the final match of the day, Dutch eighth seed Edwin Max was a 3-2 victor over debutant Krzysztof Ratajski from Poland.
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