Dave Chisnall crashed out of the World Darts Championship after a dramatic final match defeat to Ricky Evans, while former world champion Rob Cross was also eliminated in an extraordinary session at Alexandra Palace.
Chisnall won the opening set in a topsy-turvy contest, but had to recover from 2-1 down to extend their epic clash to the final set, where both players survived match points to return to extra legs.
Evans fired a 110 checkout on his way back in front and saw Chisnall recover from a shocking miscalculation on the ton plus a finishing throw to hold, with 'Rapid Ricky' then claiming the last leg of the match to send another seed heading for the early going out.
In an epic pre-Christmas session, Daryl Gurney cruised through a final set decision against Florian Hempel and World Youth Champion Gian Van Veen who were knocked out by Ricardo Pietreczko, before Cross beat Scott Williams 3-1 in the final match of the night.
Cross' early exit made him the 14th seed to crash out of the last 64 of this year's tournament, the most at this stage in the tournament's history, with Williams – who was beaten by eventual champion Luke Humphries in last year's semi-final – the last to clinch a place in the third round .
An early Christmas classic in an incredible session
Evans brought the festive cheer with his Christmas themed T-shirt and Shakin Stevens walking track, only for Chisnall to take early control by opening a 12-dart break and holding the roll in the next.
Chisnall responded to Evans' stunning 126 checkout and missed the 'Big Fish' attempt to win the set by 15 darts, but gambled away the set dart on D5 in the last split second to allow 'Rapid Ricky' to break the roll and equalise.
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Moments after Chisnall nearly got a 170 checkout, Evans hit a big 126 to fight back in the first set
Evans went ahead in the third set with 13 darts but watched Chisnall hit back cleanly in the fourth as 'Chizzy' had to come from behind on three occasions to take the final set.
Both players missed the darts match during a chaotic close, where Evans extended the contest with an incredible 110 checkout to fight back, then found a 17-dart hold to take a leg away.
Chisnall survived an untimely wrong finish to find the 'Mad House' on his next visit and drag the set to the 11th and final leg, where Evans took out the tops to post a 52 finish and spark wild celebrations.
“I played world-class darts players there, and I played pretty well,” Evans he told Sky Sports. “It's nice to say I won the game and played well – otherwise it's boring! I wish I'd beaten Chizzy 3-0 because then my ticker would beat a little slower!”
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Evans gives a brilliant and hilarious post-match interview with Abigail Davies and laughs at the Alexandra Palace crowd as they cheered him on during his win over Chisnall
Gurney survives the scare while Cross thrives
Another upset looked set when Gurney went a set against Hempel, who was on the verge of taking the second set to a decider when the Northern Irishman fired in a 156 checkout to break away with a 15-darter to level the match.
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Daryl Gurney leveled his match with Florian Hempel by taking a big 156 to make it 1-1
Hempel took the second set in straight legs and moved to within a leg of victory during a tight fourth set, before Gurney delivered back-to-back 13 darts to level the match and then broke the German early in the final set.
Gurney held the throw in the next on his way to wrap up a hard-fought victory, leaving him in the third round against seventh seed Jonny Clayton, while Cross was another big name to drop out after a disappointing loss to Williams.
Cross held the throw in the final leg of the opening set before Williams grabbed second with a 14-dart hold in the deciding second leg, with the contest also threatening to go the distance when Cross made a 130 checkout at the start of the third set.
Williams won the next three legs to take the set in front, capitalizing on a poor finish from Cross, before securing victory in the next set – and avenging a loss to the Englishman two years earlier – by taking 14 darts on top in the final leg.
Elsewhere, Van Veen missed eight darts to break his opponent in a scrappy opening leg and saw Pietreczko race through the opening set, though he responded by firing a brilliant 12-dart hold with a 127 checkout en route to leveling the contest in the second.
Pietreczko moved back in front when he posted a 122 finish in the third set won in straight legs, then broke Van Veen with 16 darts and held the roll in the next to reach the third round for the second year in a row.
Clayton is on the verge of an epic in the end game, and Rock breaks through
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Jonny Clayton and Mickey Mansell battled it out in an epic final set that included three ton plus finishes, a 10 dart leg, lots of match darts and sudden death
Clayton appeared to be cruising to the finish when he won six legs in a row, only for Mickey Mansell to force a deciding set and then produced stunning 136 and 154 finishes to move within a share of victory.
The Welshman won the next two matches to extend the contest, with both players missing the darts match, taking the set to the final end, where he used the darts to find a way over the line.
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Mansell scored 136 checkouts and followed that up with a 154 in the deciding set against Clayton
Elsewhere, Josh Rock saw off Rhys Griffin 3-0, losing just two legs to tie in the last 32 with Chris Dobey, while the other two seeds in action on Monday afternoon also went through.
Poland's number one Krzysztof Ratajski beat Alexis Toylo 3-1 and Andrew Gilding defeated Martin Lukeman by the same scoreline, with Ratajski now up against Kevin Doets – who stunned former world champion Michael Smith – and Gilding against Nathan Aspinall.
When does the third round take place?
Darts returns after Christmas on 27th December, with four consecutive days of two-day sessions at Alexandra Palace to finish the third and fourth rounds by 30th December.
World No.1 Luke Humphries plays Nick Kenny, reigning Premier League champion Luke Littler takes on Ian White, while Michael van Gerwen takes on Brendan Dolan and former world champion Gerwyn Price entertains Joe Cullen.
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Luke Littler won the final set against Ryan Meikle with just 32 darts, setting up a third round meeting with Ian White
They have the night off on New Year's Eve ahead of the quarter-finals, which are played over two sessions on New Year's Day, with the semi-finals on 2 January and the final on Friday 3 January.
You can find the complete daily schedule of this year's tournament here.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and other top sports with SADA