The tournament's fourth seed edged through a tense battle to move into the next stage of the world darts championship on the opening weekend.
'The Bullet', who was a beaten semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a 3-2 victory at Alexandra Palace.
An Eventful Battle
Bunting stormed out of the blocks, posting a superb 119.4 to power through the first set. He looked in total control after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to seize the second set.
Nevertheless, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he won just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This allowed Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to square the match. Bunting steadied himself in the decider, but was still taken to the wire before securing it 4-2.
“Performing at Alexandra Palace you feel all the feelings,” Bunting stated on broadcasters. “I was aware Sebastian was going to be a challenge and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am fortunate to get away with that one.”
Kumar Makes Groundbreaking Win
Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who made history by becoming the pioneering Indian at the tournament. He overcame Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought contest.
The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his prior first-round appearances, remarked this landmark win could have “opened the floodgates to a billion” darts players from his homeland.
“Words fail me today. I’m emotional, I’m happy,” Kumar expressed. “Dream big, anything is possible. This was my dream ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He joked with a light-hearted warning: “I’m sorry, ten years down the line if you have eight people in the world championship entering to Indian film songs, don’t blame me.”
Additional Opening Day Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an impressive start, averaging 91.62 in a comprehensive 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 fellow newcomer saw off Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in excellent touch as he comfortably defeated Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutch player overcame Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.
