GARY Anderson barely broke a sweat as the reigning world champion saw off qualifer Andy Boulton 3-0 in the first round of his title defence last night (Thursday).

Anderson, who lives in Burnham, showed little sign of nerves as he strolled to a 3-0 victory at Alexandra Palace, throwing the first of six maximum 180s with his opening three darts and never looking back from there.

There was never any danger of an upset against the qualifier who had beaten Dane Per Laursen in a preliminary round earlier in the night.

His win included two 11-darters as he reeled off seven straight legs against the 42-year-old, who was competing in his first world championships following his switch from BDO last year.

Speaking after his win, Anderson told Sky Sports: “I can have a nice Christmas. I always get nervous before I play darts but tonight was so much harder and that was such a relief to get through there. I started off well but fell off at the end.”

Anderson now faces a grudge match with Northern Irishman Daryl Gurney, who saw him off 10-4 in the second round of the Players Championships Finals less than a month ago.

The second round will be played between December 26-29.