Smith broke Beaton's throw in the fifth leg with a 14-darter and kept the lead. The St. Helens ace took out 72 in the tenth leg to claim the win. Smith will face Jermaine Wattimena in the second round on Saturday.
Chris Dobey moved into the second round after beating Steve West 6-3. Gabriel Clemens defeated Mervyn King with the same scoreline. Former world championship finalist Kirk Shepherd knocked out Vincent van der Voort to advance into the last 32.
Kim Viljanen (83.04) 0-6 (85.08) Martin Schindler
Glen Durrant (97.59) 5-6 (86.63) Kevin Burness
Niels-Jorgen Hansen (75.44) 4-6 (81.34) Ryan Harrington
Chris Dobey (88.98) 6-3 (87.29) Steve West
Gabriel Clemens (95.16) 6-3 (89.82) Mervyn King
Kirk Shepherd (83.93) 6-4 (83.58) Vincent van der Voort
Steve Beaton (94.96) 4-6 (100.02)
Michael Smith Dennis Nilsson (88.41) 6-0 (81.00) Steve Lennon