Luke Humphries shrugged off a sluggish start to his PDC World Darts Championship campaign despite a 3-0 win over Lee Evans at Alexandra Palace.

Third seed Humphries is seen as one of the strongest contenders for the title after overall wins at the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals in recent months.

But he admitted he had been let off the hook by Evans, who hit a 170 check-out in the second set but hit only five of 24 checkouts.

Humphries told Sky Sports: “I was not at my best but the most important thing is it felt good, and the first game is always the toughest.

“I am through to the next round and I won’t play the same in the next round. I am not disappointed because I won 3-0 which is what I wanted.

“I feel like that is the hardest game in the whole tournament to get through, so I’m happy and in the next game I will be so much better than that.”

There was no repeat performance for Fallon Sherrock four years after she made history by beating Ted Evetts to become the first woman to win a match at the championship.

Sherrock took the first set against opponent Jermaine Wattimena, making his 10th appearance in the tournament, but fell away badly and lost the next three sets.

Sherrock admitted: “Obviously, I’m gutted with the result. I had spells when I played well tonight but I missed chances at key moments and they cost me.

“Full credit to Jermaine, he was the better player on the night and he punished me when I missed chances.”

Jim Williams shrugged off a mathematical blunder to whitewash Guyana’s Norman Madhoo and cruise into the second round.

Williams posted no score in the first leg of the third set when he wrongly checked out on 70 rather than his required 68 but still recovered to win all nine legs in a comfortable 3-0 victory.

The Welshman, who was the runner-up in the final BDO tournament in 2020, will next face former champion Peter Wright in the second round on Wednesday.

Matt Campbell claimed his first win on the Alexandra Palace stage after surviving a gutsy comeback from Lourence Ilagan to clinch a 3-2 win.

Campbell eased through the first two sets but missed double five to seal a 3-0 win and instead Ilagan checked out on 100 to take the set and prolong the match.

Another three-figure check-out saw Ilagan level the match, but Campbell came on strong in the deciding set, winning all three legs in a row, finishing with a flourish as he took the match with a 128 check-out.

Ricky Evans beat Simon Adams 3-0 while in the solitary second-round match played on Sunday afternoon, 14th seed Joe Cullen proved too strong for Darren Penhall as he also racked up a 3-0 win.

Also in Sunday’s late action, Florian Hempel came back from behind to beat young Irishman Dylan Slevin 3-1, while Niels Zonneveld beat Darren Webster by the same score.

Christmas must be around the corner as the PDC World Darts Championship starts at Alexandra Palace on Friday.

Two-and-a-half weeks of darts await before the champion is crowned on January 3.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five competitors to keep an eye on during the tournament.

Michael van Gerwen

The Dutchman has not had the best year by his impeccable standards, with the Premier League his only major title, but he must still be considered the man to beat at Alexandra Palace.

When he fires few can keep the pace with him and Van Gerwen has the bit between his teeth as he hunts a fourth title.

He has lost twice in the final since his last victory in 2019 so is due a return to the winner’s circle.

Luke Humphries

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Luke Humphries (@lukehumphries180)

The 28-year-old will arrive at Ally Pally as favourite after a remarkable run of form in 2023.

‘Coolhand’ has won three of the last four majors as he followed the World Grand Prix title in October with wins at the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship.

No one is playing more consistently than Humphries at the minute and if he can handle the pressure of expectation, he could go all the way.

Michael Smith

Smith is the defending champion and earned himself a place in folklore last year when he beat Van Gerwen in one of the greatest finals of all time, throwing a nine-finish in a memorable leg.

‘Bully Boy’ has taken a step away from the game this year, but has not really performed to his usual standard when he has played in the major tournaments.

But coming back to defend the title is sure to spur him on and if he can find his range over the coming weeks, he will be difficult to stop.

Fallon Sherrock

The ‘Queen of the Palace’ is back at the place where life changed for her in 2020 when she became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship.

The 29-year-old has not won a game in her two appearances since then, but will be a good bet to get some more wins under her belt after a good year.

She became the first woman to hit a nine-dart finish in PDC history in March and then repeated the feat in front of the television cameras at August’s Modus Super Series.

Luke Littler

Few will have heard of Luke Littler but he is definitely a name for the future.

Just 16, Littler is causing waves in the game and his victory in the World Youth Championship made people sit up and take notice.

Winning the tournament this year may be a stretch too far but he will be hoping to take a few scalps and no one will want to play him.