Alan Soutar claimed a £15,000 cheque after cruising into the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Soutar will face world number 24 Daryl Gurney on Saturday after making light work of Australian qualifier Mal Cuming in a 3-0 win.
Soots made two ton-plus finishes – a 119 and 124 – ahead of his clash with Gurney.
Soutar was rated as 1/8 ON with bookmakers to win his opening game with Australian qualifier Cuming.
He has been in fine form in recent months, storming up to 36th in the world.
Soutar also reached the quarter-final of the Grand Slam of Darts, collecting a £25,000 cheque after losing to Nathan Aspinall.
But he was taking nothing for granted as he kicked off his bid to emulate his previous Ally Pally 16 exploits 12 months ago.
Soutar may have been almost 500 miles from Arbroath but he takes heart from the incredible support he gets from his hometown.
He was given a local hero’s send-off at Gayfield on Sunday as he took on Arbroath star Bobby Linn at the oche.
He also had support from his firefighting colleagues at Dundee Kingsway East Station.
Soutar will be back on firefighting duties over Christmas but Friday was all about the darts.
And he took to stage in Oakleigh tartan trousers, adamant that he’d block out the ‘Scotland get battered’ chants from the partisan London crowd.
Good luck the day @soots180 your missing a class dayshift #PDCWorldChampionship #greenwatch pic.twitter.com/uQDF1LxA8P
— Jamie Dean (@jambodean) December 16, 2022
Alan Soutar makes storming start
Soutar played five perfect darts in the first leg to get the crowd on his side straight away.
But he stopped short of a stunning nine-darter as he hit a single 20 with his sixth.
It was still enough to send him on his way to a comfortable 3-0 first set victory.
Cuming then claimed the opening leg of the second set to try and turn the heat on Soots.
SOOTS UP AND RUNNING!
It's the ideal opening set for Soutar, taking all three legs without reply and he's charging toward the second round!#WCDarts | R1
📺 https://t.co/37DNuuK5Me pic.twitter.com/IhFgPTOx0V— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 16, 2022
But the Scot broke straight back to regain a 2-1 lead.
And he took the second set in style, finishing on bull for a 124 checkout.
Alan Soutar almost claims 148 checkout in straight sets win
Soutar lost the opening leg of the third set before missing a double 14 for a stunning 148 checkout.
But he was back to top form to seal the win as he got his second ton-plus finish, with a 119 en-route to victory.
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