Colin Osborne confirmed he is one of the rising stars of the darts scene by ousting 2004 runner-up Kevin Painter from the Ladbrokes.com World Championship in Purfleet on Thursday night.

The 31-year-old, originally from Middlesbrough but now based in Derby, only just missed out on a seeding having risen to number 34 in the rankings after some fine performances in floor events.

That meant he was a first-round opponent nobody wanted to meet, and Painter was the unlucky man as he succumbed to a 3-1 defeat in the face of some inspired play from Osborne.

Painter, the 13th seed, was in control of the first set after a brilliant 155 checkout in the opening leg, but missed doubles at a crucial time and let in Osborne to go 1-0 up.

It gave 'The Wizard' confidence and a brilliant 10-dart leg - only one short of perfection - set him on the way to a 2-0 lead as Painter visibly became frustrated with the way things were going.

A cut finger sustained when retrieving his darts from the board in the third set briefly threatened to derail Osborne's surge, and Painter stopped the bleeding score-wise by making it 2-1.

But any thoughts that Osborne would lose his nerve were soon dispelled as he maintained his form and held his throw in set four, a second dart at double five putting paid to Painter.

"I may look calm but inside I'm going crazy," said Osborne, who displayed an unflappable temperament on the way to his success.

"I just kept plugging away and carrying on and when my chance came I took it. The first set proved that. Kevin was 2-0 up but missed a couple of doubles and I was ready to take my chance."