Skipper Paul Merson rescued Walsall with an 85th minute equaliser to prevent Stoke maintaining their 100 per cent start to the season at Bescot Stadium.
Stoke had been in the driving seat for most of the game but Walsall staged a storming finish and fully deserved their point.
Unfortunately the game finished on a sour note for the Saddlers when Vinny Samways was sent off in the last minute for a second booking following a clash with Stoke's man of the match John Eustace.
Walsall manger Colin Lee said: "I had to change the tactics in the second half and we produced a much better performance. I would have been very disappointed if we had been beaten." Stoke boss Tony Pulis admitted: "It was disappointing to lose our 100 per cent record but we have recently played a lot of games.
"I thought we should have had a penalty in the opening five minutes which would have changed the game." Merson's outstanding goal cancelled out a 32nd minute strike from Carl Asaba.
With striker Gifton Noel-Williams impressing Stoke were always the more dangerous in the first period against Walsall's over stretched defence.
In the opening few minutes Walsall were fortunate not to concede a penalty when Neil Emblen sent Eustace crashing to the ground in the area.
Jorge Leitao was Walsall's only striker in an indifferent first half posed few problems against the two former Coventry defenders, Paul Williams and Marcus Hall.
It was following some persistent pressure that Stoke were finally rewarded in the 32nd minute.
Asaba Latched on to a loose ball following a poor clearance by Ian Roper and fired home past James Walker to put Walsall firmly on the back foot.
Walsall, however, were a different team in the second half and finished on a high note when a long clearance from keeper Walker was headed down by Gary Birch into the path of Merson who scored with a superb volley from 15 yards.