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.
