'The Bullet' Weathers Major Fright as The Indian pioneer Creates History for India.
Stephen Bunting edged through a tense battle to move into the next stage of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.
'The Bullet', who was a losing semi-finalist last year, was taken all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a hard-fought victory at Alexandra Palace.
An Eventful Encounter
Bunting stormed out of the blocks, averaging an incredible 119.4 en route to powering through the first set. He looked in total control after checking out a spectacular 160 finish to take the second set.
However, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he won just one leg over the next two sets. This enabled Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to draw level. Bunting found his rhythm in the decider, but was still pushed to the limit before taking it 4-2.
“Competing at Ally Pally you feel all the feelings,” Bunting explained to Sky Sports. “I was aware Sebastian was going to be tough and even at 2-0 he never gave in. I am fortunate to get away with that one.”
Kumar Makes Landmark Win
Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who made history by becoming the first Indian winner at the tournament. He beat Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling contest.
The 40-year-old, who had been defeated in all four of his previous first-round appearances, suggested this landmark win could have “opened the floodgates to a billion” darts players from India.
“I don’t know at this moment. I’m overwhelmed, I’m happy,” said Kumar. “With belief, anything is achievable. I’ve dreamed of this ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He joked with a humorous warning: “I’m sorry, a decade from now if you have multiple players in the world championship walking on to Indian film songs, don’t blame me.”
Additional First-Round Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an convincing 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, 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 identical 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in good form as he eased past Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutchman overcame Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Concluded the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.
