PDC World Championship: Anderson and Wright ease through

Gary Anderson won in straight sets against Andy Boulton in his first-round match

Gary Anderson began the defence of his PDC World Championship title with a 3-0 win over Englishman Andy Boulton at London's Alexandra Palace on Thursday.

He will next play Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney, who beat him last month.

Anderson's compatriot Peter Wright also progressed to the second round, defeating Keegan Brown 3-0.

Huntly's John Henderson plays Norwich's Darren Webster in Friday afternoon's session and Scot Robert Thornton takes on Alan Norris on Monday night.

Anderson won his first world title in January in a dramatic final against Phil Taylor and he will compete with 71 other players for the £1.5m in prize money.