'The Bullet' Weathers Huge Fright while Nitin Kumar Makes A Landmark for Indian Darts.
The tournament's fourth seed survived a monumental scare to move into the next stage of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.
The Merseysider, who reached losing semi-finalist last year, was taken all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a hard-fought victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.
A Rollercoaster Match
Bunting stormed out of the blocks, averaging an incredible 119.4 as he powered through the opening set. Victory seemed assured after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to seize the second set.
Yet, his momentum stalled, and he won just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This let Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to square the match. Bunting steadied himself in the decider, but was still taken to the wire before taking it 4-2.
“When you are playing at this venue you go through all the emotions,” Bunting told broadcasters. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am lucky to get away with that one.”
Kumar Makes Groundbreaking Victory
Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who achieved a first by becoming the initial victor from India at the tournament. He beat Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought match.
The veteran player, who had lost in all four of his prior first-round appearances, remarked this landmark win could have “created a pathway to a billion” darts players from his homeland.
“I’m lost for words today. I’m emotional, I’m happy,” Kumar expressed. “With belief, anything is possible. I’ve dreamed of this ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He concluded with a light-hearted prediction: “I’m sorry, ten years from now if you have eight people in the world championship walking on to Indian film songs, don’t blame me.”
Additional First-Round Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a dominant 3-0 win over Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won just one leg.
- Jonny Tata: Another debutant, from New Zealand, dashed the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a clear 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The other newcomer defeated Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 margin.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he eased past 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.
