'The Bullet' Endures Significant Fright as 'The Royal Bengal' Makes A Landmark for Indian Darts.
Stephen Bunting narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the second round of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.
Bunting, who was a beaten semi-finalist last year, was pushed all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before securing a 3-2 victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.
An Eventful Match
Bunting made a flying start, averaging an incredible 119.4 as he powered through the opening set. Victory seemed assured after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.
However, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he won just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This allowed Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to pull back. Bunting steadied himself in the decider, but was still pushed to the limit before taking it 4-2.
“When you are playing at Alexandra Palace you experience all the emotions,” Bunting explained to Sky Sports. “I was aware Sebastian was going to be a challenge and even at 2-0 he kept fighting. I am fortunate to come through that one.”
Kumar Creates Historic Win
Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who made history by becoming the first Indian winner at the championship. He beat the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling match.
The 40-year-old, who had been defeated in all four of his previous first-round matches, remarked this breakthrough could have “paved the way to a billion” darts players from India.
“I’m lost for words at this moment. I’m ecstatic, I’m thrilled,” said Kumar. “If you dream it, anything is achievable. This vision motivated me ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He concluded with a light-hearted prediction: “I’m sorry, a decade in the future if you have eight people in the world championship walking on to Bollywood music, you know who started it.”
Other Opening Day Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a one-sided 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won just one leg.
- Jonny Tata: Another first-timer, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a resounding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The other newcomer beat Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he comfortably defeated Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutch player beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.
