Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen also advanced to the fourth round with a 4-2 victory over 30th seed Brendan Dolan.
Dolan from Northern Ireland won the first set on a throw, while Dutchman Van Gerwen won the second set.
That started an eight-leg run during the rotation, giving the third seed a 3-1 lead.
He was in excellent form in the fourth set, averaging 118.66, but in the fifth set, won by Dolan, his score dropped to just 84.
In the next set, Van Gerwen threw some wayward darts and was at fault again, missing the doubles before sealing the victory.
The game summed up Van Gerwen’s year – lofty moments, but also lapses that will likely be punished by the best as the tournament progresses.
In round four, he will face either Swede Jeffrey de Graaf or Paolo Nebrida of the Philippines, who are unseeded.
“It was a difficult, really difficult and really difficult match,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports.
“Everyone can see that he never gives up and you have to try to punish him at the right moments, and I wasn’t able to do that.
“There is still a lot of work ahead of us and I know I can do it. I can’t wait for the next round and let it roll on.”
In the first match of the evening, 15th-seeded Chris Dobey defeated 18th-seeded Josh Rock 4-2.
Rock from Northern Ireland led 1-0 and 2-1 before Dobey improved and settled into a routine as the match progressed.
He won the fourth set 3-0, then in the fifth Rock missed a set dart for a double top.
Dobey then won the sixth set, completing the double-double, and faced either Dutchman Kevin Doets or Pole Krzysztof Ratajski in the fourth round.
Many predicted a close match, with both teams receiving an Order of Merit from the PDC of just £250, and that was exactly what happened, but Dobey’s consistent scoring – his average of 97.29 – and a box-off percentage of 45.2 gave him a promotion.
The afternoon session saw the light of day Joyce shocks 20th seed Ryan Searleand Ricardo Pietreczko and 12th seed Nathan Aspinall also made progress.
