England's Joe Cullen came from two sets to one down to beat Jim Williams and reach the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship ©Getty Images

Three matches went the distance and two seeds were knocked out as the second round of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship continued in London.

On the eighth day of action at Alexandra Palace, England's Joe Cullen came from two sets behind to triumph against Jim Williams in one of the three contests that went to five sets.

Welshman Williams took a two sets to one lead after sealing set three with a 119 checkout but England’s Cullen levelled proceedings after winning set four.

Cullen, the 13th seed, then completed the turnaround as he claimed the fifth set courtesy of a double four to earn a 3-2 victory.

England’s Nathan Aspinall also overturned a 2-1 deficit to beat compatriot Joe Murnan.

Aspinall, the 10th seed, won the deciding set by three legs to one to seal a 3-2 victory and a place in round three.

The third match to go the distance saw 17th seed Dirk van Duijvenbode of the Netherlands overcome Russia’s Boris Koltsov by the same scoreline.

Van Duijvenbode also found himself behind by two sets to one but claimed the deciding set by four legs to two to win 3-2.

On the penultimate day of action before the Christmas break, two seeded players were eliminated.

Ireland’s William O’Connor raced past England’s Glen Durrant, the 24th seed, triumphing 3-0 in a match where Durrant won only one leg during the contest.

The final match of the night saw Australia's Simon Whitlock, the 20th seed, beaten by Martijn Kleermaker of the Netherlands, on his PDC World Championship debut.

Kleermaker, who had to withdraw from last year's event after testing positive for coronavirus, won the last two sets for the loss of just two legs as he beat Whitlock 3-1.

Elsewhere, William Borland of Scotland, who made headlines in his first round match after hitting a nine-dart finish in the deciding leg, was beaten 3-0 by England’s Ryan Searle, the 15th seed.

Belgium’s 32nd seed Kim Huybrechts came from a set down to defeat England’s Steve Beaton 3-1, while England’s Luke Humphries, the 19th seed, overcame Austria’s Rowby-John Rodriguez 3-0 for the loss of just two legs.

The second round is scheduled to conclude tomorrow with the final eight second round matches, with the highlight likely to be a meeting of two former world champions in England’s Rob Cross, the 2018 champion, against Raymond Van Barneveld of The Netherlands, who won the PDC World Championship title for the only time in 2007.