'The Bullet' Weathers Major Test while The Indian pioneer Creates A Landmark for Indian Darts.
The tournament's fourth seed narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the second round of the world darts championship on Sunday.
Bunting, who reached beaten semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a hard-fought victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.
A Rollercoaster Encounter
Bunting made a flying start, averaging an incredible 119.4 en route to powering through the opening set. Victory seemed assured after landing a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.
Nevertheless, his momentum stalled, and he won just one leg over the next two sets. This let Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to square the match. Bunting regained his composure in the decider, but was still pushed to the limit before taking it 4-2.
“Competing at Alexandra Palace you experience all the emotions,” Bunting told Sky Sports. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he kept fighting. I am lucky to come through that one.”
Kumar Secures Landmark Win
Bunting's second-round foe will be Nitin Kumar, who made history by becoming the pioneering Indian at the tournament. He defeated Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling contest.
The veteran player, who had lost in all four of his previous first-round appearances, suggested this breakthrough could have “opened the floodgates to a billion” darts players from his homeland.
“Words fail me at this moment. I’m emotional, I’m thrilled,” Kumar expressed. “If you dream it, anything is possible. I’ve dreamed of this ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He joked with a light-hearted warning: “I’m sorry, ten years in the future if you have eight people in the world championship entering to Bollywood music, you know who started it.”
Other First-Round Action
- Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a dominant 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who managed just one leg.
- Jonny Tata: Another debutant, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a resounding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The fellow newcomer beat Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in excellent touch as he comfortably defeated Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutchman beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over America’s Stowe Buntz.
