'The Bullet' Endures Significant Scare while Nitin Kumar Makes History for India.
Stephen Bunting narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the second round of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.
'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 securing a 3-2 victory at Alexandra Palace.
A Rollercoaster Battle
Bunting stormed out of the blocks, averaging an incredible 119.4 as he powered through the first set. Victory seemed assured after checking out a spectacular 160 finish to take the second set.
Yet, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he managed just one leg over the next two sets. This let Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to draw level. Bunting regained his composure in the final set, but was still pushed to the limit before securing it 4-2.
“Competing at this venue you feel all the feelings,” Bunting stated on Sky Sports. “I knew Sebastian was going to be tough and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am fortunate to get away with that one.”
Kumar Secures Historic Win
Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who made history by becoming the first Indian winner at the event. He defeated the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling contest.
The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his prior first-round appearances, suggested this breakthrough could have “paved the way to a billion potential” darts players from his homeland.
“Words fail me at this moment. I’m emotional, I’m happy,” said Kumar. “Dream big, anything is achievable. This was my dream ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He added with a light-hearted prediction: “I’m sorry, a decade from now if you have multiple players in the world championship entering to Indian film songs, you know who started it.”
Additional First-Round Action
- Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a dominant 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 commanding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The fellow newcomer beat 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 overcame Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Concluded the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over America’s Stowe Buntz.
