The perfect leg came on Van Duijvenbode's throw with Woodhouse 2-1 up. Back-to-back 180s left him on 141, which he took out on double 12. That proved to be the only break of the match, and Woodhouse finished it off by taking out 89 on the bull.
"I had a chance at the Worlds, and that didn't go very well," Woodhouse told ITV Sport.
"I know it is a cliché, but the important thing is the win, so I tried to keep myself calm and crack on with the game. I didn't want to be one of those people who hit a nine-darter then lost the game."
Missed doubles cost Danny Noppert at both ends of his match against Stephen Bunting.
In the opening leg, Noppert outscored Bunting but missed four darts at a double on his own throw, and Bunting broke. In the deciding leg, Noppert was on 100 for the match, hit double 20 with his first dart and missed it with his second. Bunting took out 160 to win 6-5.
Niels Zonneveld followed Van Duijvenbode and Noppert out, only days after winning his first PDC title in Maastricht. He started well against Cameron Menzies, breaking in the opening leg with a 109 checkout on tops. Menzies then won six of the next eight legs to win 6-3, finishing on the bull from 87.
Gerwyn Price beat Rob Cross 6-2 in a meeting of former world champions, breaking in the opening leg with a 127 checkout on the bull. Cross had a dart bounce out just as he was finding some rhythm, and at 3-1 down he missed two darts at 32 on his own throw. Price broke to lead 4-1 and finished the match with a 135 checkout.
James Wade lost 6-5 to Damon Heta despite producing the checkout of the night: 121 with treble 20, single 11 and the bull. Wade also broke with a 103 finish to lead 5-3, but missed two match darts at tops in the ninth leg, and Heta won the decider on double four.
Huybrechts seizes opportunity
Kim Huybrechts was only handed a place on Thursday afternoon, after Luke Humphries withdrew through illness. He lost the opening leg to Ryan Searle and won the next six to win 6-1. The Belgian averaged 103.81 and hit back-to-back 180s on the way.
Defending champion Gian van Veen was pushed to the brink by Andrew Gilding, with the former World Championship runner-up eventually making his way into the second round. Gilding opened two legs in a row with 180s and broke twice to lead 3-2. Van Veen recovered, and when Gilding missed 70 to force a decider in the 10th leg, Van Veen broke on double eight to win 6-4.
Top seed Ross Smith outscored Karel Sedlacek for most of the final match of the night, but his finishing nearly cost him. Every leg from the third to the ninth went against the throw before Smith broke to lead 5-4. In the final leg, the pair missed eight darts at a double between them before Smith won it 6-4 on double two.
The action continues on Friday with big names including Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall all entering the fray.