World Champion John Part and number five seed Terry Jenkins were among the big names to lose out on the opening night of the PartyPoker.net European Championship.

Part crashed to a 5-3 loss against Scottish star Robert Thornton, who came from 3-2 down to take victory.

Jenkins was defeated 7-5 in a thrilling clash by Spanish newcomer Carlos Rodriguez, the 29-year-old from Barcelona making his debut in front of the television cameras.

Rodriguez led 2-0 and 4-2 before Jenkins responded to level, but the Spaniard - a runner-up in a Players Championship last week - took back-to-back legs in a tie-break to seal his win.

Former UK Open champion Roland Scholten also exited on the opening night, losing 5-1 to Austria's Mensur Suljovic as a worsening shoulder problem took its toll on the Dutchman.

World number one Phil Taylor averaged an impressive 106 in defeating Jacko Barry 5-1, and will now meet Mervyn King in round two on Saturday.

King, the only man to have beaten Taylor twice in 2008, came from 3-0 down to defeat Wayne Jones 6-4.

Mark Walsh also impressed on the tournament's opening night, hitting a 104 average in a 6-4 defeat of Colin Osborne, while Ronnie Baxter edged out Vincent van der Voort by the same scoreline.

The first round concludes on Friday evening, with the action including Raymond van Barneveld and James Wade - ranked two and three in the PDC Order of Merit - and Colin Lloyd's clash with Jelle Klaasen.