The Merseyside thrower Survives Significant Test while Nitin Kumar Makes A Landmark for Indian Darts.
The 2024 semi-finalist edged through a tense battle to advance into the next stage of the world darts championship on the opening weekend.
'The Bullet', who reached losing semi-finalist last year, was taken all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a 3-2 victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.
A Rollercoaster Encounter
Bunting made a flying start, posting a superb 119.4 en route to powering through the first set. Victory seemed assured after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.
Yet, his momentum stalled, and he managed just one leg over the next two sets. This enabled Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to draw level. Bunting steadied himself in the decider, but was still taken to the wire before taking it 4-2.
“Competing at Ally Pally you feel all the emotions,” Bunting explained to Sky Sports. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he never gave in. I am lucky to get away with that one.”
Kumar Makes Groundbreaking Win
Bunting's second-round foe will be Nitin Kumar, who created a landmark by becoming the pioneering Indian at the event. He defeated the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling match.
The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his prior first-round matches, implied this landmark win could have “opened the floodgates to a billion” darts players from his homeland.
“I don’t know 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 added with a light-hearted warning: “I’m sorry, ten years down the line if you have eight people in the world championship walking on to Indian film songs, don’t blame me.”
Further First-Round Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an strong 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 first-timer, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a clear 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The other newcomer saw off Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 3-0 margin.
- 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 America’s Stowe Buntz.
