CARDIGAN darts ace Jamie Lewis says he is delighted to be through to the last 32 of the 2018 William Hill PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace.

The 26-year-old, ranked number 46 in the world and competing in his sixth successive championship, swept aside recent Professional Players Championship finalist Jonny Clayton 3-0 in the first round.

The former pupil at Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi earned prize money of more than £15,000, and will go on to face world number two Peter Wright in the second round on 27 December.

Lewis - who came through the PDPA Qualifiers to snatch an Ally Pally spot - started his day off with a preliminary round success over young Belgian Kenny Neyens, before then returning later on to win his all-Welsh match with Clayton.

“I’ve been in the PDC now for five years, and I’ve still not really shown what I know I can do,” admitted Lewis. “It is about time I do, so hopefully this week might well be the chance.

“I’ve not had a great year on the Tour. I thought I’d blown it, and had one chance left at Milton Keynes in the qualifiers, so I thought I’d go and give it my best, as I know I can play as good as anybody.”

Lewis had survived a flying start from Neyens to win the match 2-1 and set up a clash with Clayton.

Belgian debutant Neyens had come bursting out of the traps with a 180 on his first throw, and he then added a second maximum in a 14-dart opening leg.

He added the second leg as well, before Lewis woke up and hit a ‘snooker maximum’ 147 checkout, which kick-started his challenge and prompted a three-leg burst that gave him the set from seemingly nowhere.

A 13-darter made it four on the spin for Lewis, but as he charged towards the finish line Neyens kept himself in the match with gutsy 62 and 74 checkouts to claim the second set in a decider.

Lewis had missed a match dart in the second set, but he made no mistake in the next as he took all three legs of the third and finished with a super 10-darter to go through to the first round.

Lewis completed a super Sunday as he secured a second win of the day with an impressive 3-0 win over Welshman Jonny Clayton.

In the all-Welsh encounter, Clayton tried to lay down a marker in the opening leg with his first 180, but Lewis responded with a maximum of his own on the very next throw - and he built on that by taking out a superb 126 for a 12-darter.

Lewis closed out the first set with a brilliant 11-darter, after Clayton had to take out 104 to get off the mark.

Clayton, from Pontyberem, failed to reproduce the form which saw him finish the Players Championship Finals as runner-up last month, and that earlier preliminary round win had warmed Lewis up nicely.

Lewis could not keep up his 101 average in the second set, but the result was the same as he doubled his lead, despite handing a leg to Clayton with three missed double 16s, as he returned to hit that same double to move two sets up.

Clayton won two legs in the third set, but Lewis always looked the stronger as he hit 180s in all three legs he won - highlighted with a 130 finish and a closing 11-darter to win the match.

Meanwhile Peter Wright overcame his recent illness as well as a spirited display from Brazilian Diogo Portela to get through the first round.

Wright was briefly hospitalised with gallstones at the end of November, and has spent much of the past three weeks recuperating at home in Suffolk - but although he has yet to return to full health, he averaged 98.59 in a 3-1 win.