Van Gerwen survies scare to progress at All Pally

MICHAEL van Gerwen survived an almighty scare in the opening round of the World Championship.

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The three-time champion battled past Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, with his 3-1 victory not telling the real story.

For 20 minutes the Japanese threatened arguably the greatest shock in the tournament's history as he had the darts to go 2-0 up with a charismatic performance.

Van Gerwen, who has not lost in the first round at Ally Pally since 2011, looked like he had steadied the ship, but the 52-year-old Tatsunami rallied and had darts to send it to a deciding set.

But he could not find them and the Dutchman was able to breathe again.