The Merseyside thrower Survives Significant Scare as The Indian pioneer Creates History for Indian Darts.
The 2024 semi-finalist survived a monumental scare to move into the second round of the world darts championship on the opening weekend.
'The Bullet', who reached losing semi-finalist last year, was pushed all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a hard-fought victory at Alexandra Palace.
A Turbulent 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.
Nevertheless, his form dipped, and he won just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This allowed Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to square the match. Bunting regained his composure in the decider, but was still taken to the wire before taking it 4-2.
“When you are playing at this venue you feel all the emotions,” Bunting explained to Sky Sports. “I was aware Sebastian was going to be a challenge and even at 2-0 he kept fighting. I am fortunate to come through that one.”
Kumar Creates Landmark Victory
Bunting's second-round foe will be Nitin Kumar, who created a landmark by becoming the pioneering Indian at the event. He beat the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling match.
The 40-year-old, who had been defeated in all four of his previous first-round appearances, implied this landmark win could have “paved the way to a billion potential” darts players from his homeland.
“I’m lost for words right now. I’m ecstatic, I’m happy,” said Kumar. “With belief, anything is possible. This vision motivated me ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He added with a humorous prediction: “I’m sorry, ten years in the future if you have multiple players in the world championship walking on to Bollywood music, you know who started it.”
Additional First-Round Action
- Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an impressive start, averaging 91.62 in a comprehensive 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won 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 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 eased past Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutch player overcame Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Concluded the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.
