'The Bullet' Endures Significant Fright as The Indian pioneer Makes A Landmark for India.
The tournament's fourth seed narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the second round of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.
'The Bullet', who was a beaten semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a 3-2 victory at Alexandra Palace.
An Eventful Match
Bunting made a flying start, averaging an incredible 119.4 as he powered through the opening set. Victory seemed assured after landing a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.
Nevertheless, his momentum stalled, and he managed just one leg over the next two sets. This allowed Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to draw level. Bunting steadied himself in the final set, but was still pushed to the limit before securing it 4-2.
“Competing at this venue you feel all the emotions,” Bunting explained to broadcasters. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he never gave in. I am fortunate to get away with that one.”
Kumar Secures Groundbreaking Win
Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who achieved a first by becoming the first Indian winner at the tournament. He overcame the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought contest.
The 40-year-old, who had been defeated in all four of his previous first-round appearances, implied this breakthrough could have “paved the way to a billion” darts players from his homeland.
“Words fail me right now. I’m overwhelmed, I’m happy,” Kumar stated. “With belief, anything is possible. This was my dream ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He joked with a humorous warning: “I’m sorry, a decade down the line if you have eight people in the world championship entering to Indian film songs, don’t blame me.”
Other Opening Day Action
- Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an impressive start, averaging 91.62 in a one-sided 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who managed just one leg.
- Jonny Tata: Another debutant, from New Zealand, dashed the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a commanding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The other newcomer defeated Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he comfortably defeated Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutchman overcame Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Concluded the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over America’s Stowe Buntz.
