Wildcard and local hero Wayne Willgress was the toast of Potters after knocking out three-time champion Andy Thomson MBE in front of a large partisan crowd in the final match of day eight.
The Wymondham-based star admitted prior to the tournament that it would be a dream come true to get the chance to stride out on the portable blue rink at the ‘Wembley of Bowls’ and he produced a fairytale result on his debut, eventually winning on a tie-break 9-3 3-12 2-1.
Buoyed by his vocal band of supporters, Willgress controlled proceedings from the start, feeding off the crowd’s euphoria to forge ahead and eventually take the first set with something to spare.
But it was never going to be that easy against the vastly-experienced Thomson, who managed to gain a foothold in the match by striking some early blows in the second set to lead 4-1 after three ends. This soon turned into a 10-3 advantage and after Willgress failed to make an impression on end eight it was tie-break time.
First blood went to Willgress, while Thomson had to draw within eight yards of the jack to land the second end after a drive by the Norfolk ace resulted in the pot rebounding up the rink.
With the pressure reaching breaking point during the winner-takes-all final end, Willgress delivered a shot bowl, Thomson failed to drive it off, and the Norfolk man was left celebrating a famous victory.
The look of relief on seventh seed Stewart Anderson’s face was plain to see as the Auchinleck ace scraped past Tourcard winner Perry Martin.
With six-time world champion Alex Marshall exiting at the first hurdle on Wednesday, his international teammate looked on course to follow suit after a one-sided first set in which the Scot looked all at sea as Perry took it 10-2. But the 2013 winner rediscovered the sort of form that saw him land the big one five years ago.
A player who loves to draw, such was Anderson’s predicament in the first set, that he resorted to using weight on numerous occasions in a bid to halt Perry’s progress without much luck. Again and again he found himself trailing the end and without an answer to Perry’s relentless crusade.
Then after dropping singles on the first two ends of the second set, there looked only one outcome with Anderson again struggling to find any sort of rhythm, before a treble on end three seemed to jolt him to life.
He may have dropped a double on the very next end, but for the next five it was vintage Anderson, as he peppered relentlessly away at the jack to eventually win the second set 9-5 and trigger a three-end tie-break.
Losing the first end put him on the back foot, but he responded in kind to tie the match and he just did enough to fend off Perry on the final end and clinch a welcome second-round berth.
Robert Paxton edged a pulsating clash with Welsh PBA qualifier Daniel Salmon to book a second-round clash with Les Gillett.
With Damian Doubler, Salmon reached the final of the Open Pairs last year only to lose to Gillett and Jason Greenslade, and his pedigree was obvious as he took Paxton right down to the wire.
After a ding-dong tussle in which the tide ebbed one way then the other, it all came down to a nerve-wracking measure on the final end of a tie-break, with Paxton’s red bowl half an inch closer to the jack than Salmon’s green wood, which ultimately clinched him a 9-5 6-7 2-1 success.
Gillett came through a stern examination against old foe and former top-16 player Simon Skelton, eventually emerging an 11-3 8-7 winner.
Melton ace Gillett needed to dig deep into his arsenal to repel the advances of Skelton, who threatened to send the 11th seed tumbling out of the tournament.
Skelton carved out an early lead in the first set, but a double on end four triggered an impressive run for Gillett, who went on to claim the next four ends to seal a one-set advantage.
Early in the second set, the writing looked to be on the wall for Skelton, as Gillett pocketed a big three and moved 4-1 ahead two ends later, but the Nottingham ace rolled back the years and produced an intense period of sublime bowls, which saw him turn a three-shot deficit into a three-shot lead with just two ends to play.
A three on end eight levelled the scores, though, and with Skelton needing to win the final end in order to send the match into a tie-break, Gillett used all his nous to claim the shot needed, punching the air in celebration and no doubt puffing his cheeks with relief at the same time.