PDC World Darts 2018: Peter Wright through to round two

Peter Wright wore three Christmas-themed shirts in victory over Diogo Portela

World number two Peter Wright beat Brazilian debutant Diogo Portela to reach the second round of the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace.

The Scot, seeded second, won the first set before Portela levelled.

But Wright avoided a shock defeat, edging the third set and claiming the fourth in straight legs to win 3-1.

Elsewhere, more seeds lost in the first round, with Kim Huybrechts beaten 3-0 by James Richardson and Cristo Reyes falling 3-1 to Toni Alcinas.

Darren Webster, the 23rd seed, saw off South Africa's Devon Petersen 3-2 to set up a second-round tie with Simon Whitlock.

Seeds stumble but Snakebite stands firm

'Snakebite' Wright, starting his campaign with a Christmas theme to his trademark flamboyant hair, only confirmed he would play on Wednesday, having been diagnosed with gallstones last month.

He was tested at times by Portela, who became the first Brazilian to play in the event, but an average of 97.9 was enough to take him through to face Wales' Jamie Lewis in round two, despite not being fully fit.

Wright told Sky Sports: "That's the most I've sweated on stage - I'm still not well."

High-profile seeds including Adrian Lewis, James Wade and Dave Chisnall have all fallen to shock defeats in round one this year and the trend continued on Thursday.

Belgium's Huybrechts, seeded 18th, was comprehensively outplayed by England's Richardson, who lost only two legs during the match and will next face 15th seed Alan Norris.

Alcinas took the first two sets against fellow Spaniard Reyes, before the 26th seed won the third but could not complete the comeback, with Alcinas through to face German qualifier Kevin Munch, who stunned Lewis on Tuesday.

Webster looked on course for a comfortable win as he hit a 160 checkout to go 2-0 up before Petersen fought back to level, only for Webster to clinch the decider.