Stephen Bunting Survives Huge Fright while Nitin Kumar Secures History for India.

The 2024 semi-finalist narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the second round of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.

Bunting, who was a losing semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before securing a hard-fought victory at Alexandra Palace.

A Turbulent Battle

Bunting stormed out of the blocks, posting a superb 119.4 as he powered through the first set. The win appeared certain after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to take the second set.

However, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he won just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This enabled Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to pull back. Bunting regained his composure in the decider, but was still pushed to the limit before winning it 4-2.

“Performing at Ally Pally you go through all the feelings,” 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 come through that one.”

Kumar Creates Landmark Win

Bunting's next opponent will be 'The Royal Bengal', who made history by becoming the first Indian winner at the championship. He beat Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling match.

The veteran player, who had been defeated in all four of his previous first-round matches, implied this breakthrough could have “created a pathway to a billion” darts players from his homeland.

“Words fail me at this moment. I’m ecstatic, I’m happy,” said Kumar. “With belief, anything is achievable. I’ve dreamed of this 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 walking on to Indian film songs, you know who started it.”

Other 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 first-timer, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a commanding 3-0 victory.
• Dom Taylor: The other newcomer saw off Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 margin.
• Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in excellent touch 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 American Stowe Buntz.