Former world champion Michael van Gerwen was knocked out of the Ladbrokes Masters for the second consecutive year by Jonny Clayton, who saw off a late comeback to clinch the deciding leg.
Clayton had a three-leg advantage wiped out as MVG refused to go quietly, but back-to-back 180s set the Welshman up to secure a 10-9 win and progress through to the quarter finals.
Gerwyn Price returned to action for the first time since winning the world championship at the start of the year and produced a stunning performance to ease past Joe Cullen.
Adrian Lewis kicked off the evening with a victory over Gary Anderson, while Peter Wright saw off a battling Simon Whitlock in an entertaining affair.
Clayton knocks MVG out of Masters for second straight year
Clayton, who beat José de Sousa in the first round, broke throw in the second leg and raced into a 4-1 lead at the interval – with van Gerwen yet to get going at this point.
Both players held their throw and Clayton was on the verge of a 7-3 lead before MVG took out a stunning 158 finish, but the Ferret continued his fine display and found himself 9-6 up and on the verge.
Van Gerwen refused to bow out quietly and forced a deciding leg between the pair. Two maximums from the magnificent Clayton saw the Welshman on his way to a 14-dart leg, clinching a 10-9 victory.
Clayton will play James Wade in the quarter finals, after he beat Chris Dobey 10-4 in the afternoon session.
Iceman storms to victory against Cullen
For the first time since his heroics at the Alexandra Palace, Price was introduced as the World Champion and world number one and he certainly backed that up with a blistering performance.
The Iceman went into the first interval with a 3-2 lead as both players held their throw. After Cullen missed a dart at the double for a ton-plus finish, Price took advantage and then accelerated into a 7-2 lead.
Cullen, who reached the last 16 of the World Championship, pulled a leg back to make it 7-3, but Price stormed the next three to finish the game averaging 104.37 and will be back in action against Lewis on Sunday afternoon.
Snakebite progresses after seeing off resilient Whitlock
Wright’s defence of the Masters title got off to a winning start as he defeated Whitlock 10-8 to reach the quarter finals.
Both players held their throw in the first four legs, but Wright broke in the fifth and went on to open up a two-leg lead.
The Wizard continued to push the current Masters champion, but was unable to get that break of throw back as Wright’s 13-dart leg made it 8-6.
Snakebite went on to close out on a 10-8 victory in the closely-fought contest, with both players finished with a ton-plus average. The Scotsman has now reached the quarter finals in each of the last seven years.
Jackpot on a roll after knocking out Anderson
Lewis was on the front foot from the start, breaking throw and moving into a 2-0 lead before going on to have a 3-2 advantage at the interval.
Jackpot, with a brilliant 127 checkout along the way, rattled off three straight legs to open up a 6-2 lead. Anderson found himself 7-3 down, but pulled back to within one leg.
The Flying Scotsman went on to miss darts at the double to take the game to a deciding leg and Lewis capitalised to secure a 10-8 win. Jackpot will face Price in the quarter finals.