A Geoff Horsfield brace moved Wigan up to second in the first division table after a tough scrap against an eager Stoke side at the JJB Stadium.
The Latics had to come from behind for their first victory in five games after the visitors took a shock first-half lead.
The character of Paul Jewell's outfit came to the fore yet again in a fiercely competitive encounter that saw chances created and wasted at both ends.
Stoke took the lead six minutes before the break when Kris Commons took advantage of a mistake by Wigan's Ian Breckin and sprinted 40 yards before setting up Gifton Noel-Williams to score from ten yards.
Wigan lost Nathan Ellington in the first half but his striking partner Horsfield then took centre stage with his double strike.
His first came ten minutes after the restart with a close-range drive after a low cross from Stephen McMillan had caused havoc in the Stoke defence.
Just 15 minutes later the former Birmingham hit-man scored a cracking second to seal the points.
A hopeful long ball out of defence by Nicky Eaden was not dealt with by Paul Williams and Horsfield pounced to take the ball on and blast high into the net from eight yards.
Wigan held on despite some frantic Stoke pressure and in the last seconds they escaped when Darel Russell cracked a shot against the crossbar.