Phil Taylor has launched his bid for a 17th world title with a comfortable 3-0 win over Keita Ono.

The world number three was using a new set of darts for his clash with the Japanese thrower, but he showed no signs of difficulty in adapting to his new arrows as he dropped just one leg on the way to victory.

However, earlier on Saturday night, another seed fell at the first hurdle as Simon Whitlock surrendered an advantage of two sets and two legs against Ricky Evans.

Whitlock also missed two darts to earn a place in the last 32 before Evans produced a stunning comeback, registering nine maximums on the way to winning the final set 6-4.

Vincent van der Voort made easier work of Laurence Ryder, however, as he dropped just two legs en route to a 3-0 win.