A teddy bear called Kevin again proved a lucky mascot as Bradford product John 'Boy' Walton began the defence of his Embassy World Professional darts title in style at the Lakeside Country Club.

The match against four-times semi-finalist Andy Fordham had looked like being one of the first-round highlights, but proved an anti-climax as the 40-year-old from Sheffield notched a 3-0 victory.

The top seed, who played for seven years at Low Moor WMC and learnt the game at Laisterdyke Cricket Club, carried on where he left off last year, losing only one leg as he checked out clinically while his rival struggled on the doubles.

'The Viking' was probably the toughest opening opponent Walton could have faced, but instead it was little more than a useful work-out for someone who swept aside all-comers 12 months ago to capture the crown as a virtual unknown.

Since then, Walton has stormed clear at the top of the rankings with a string of victories and is a strong contender to retain his title.

Woolwich heavyweight Fordham began to miss double after double and Walton won five consecutive legs. Fordham then enjoyed his only success, but it was soon business as usual as Walton closed out the second set and then raced through the third to leave the legions of Fordham fans heartbroken.

"I had been panicking since before Christmas about playing Andy and I think he felt the same," said Walton. "He kept missing doubles and I wasn't really flowing because I was shaking with nerves.

"There's a hell of a lot of pressure on me as champion because I'm there to be shot at and they all want to take my scalp now."

In the second round tomorrow, Walton will meet 1998 semi-finalist Colin Monk of Basingstoke.