Stephen Bunting Survives Significant Scare as 'The Royal Bengal' Secures A Landmark for Indian Darts.
The 2024 semi-finalist narrowly avoided an early exit to progress into the next stage of the world darts championship on Sunday.
'The Bullet', who was a beaten semi-finalist last year, was pushed all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before securing a hard-fought victory at Alexandra Palace.
An Eventful Encounter
Bunting stormed out of the blocks, posting a superb 119.4 en route to powering through the opening set. He looked in total control after landing a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.
However, his form dipped, and he managed just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This let Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to square the match. Bunting found his rhythm in the final set, but was still pushed to the limit before winning it 4-2.
“Competing at Alexandra Palace you feel all the emotions,” Bunting explained to broadcasters. “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 Historic Victory
Bunting's second-round foe will be 'The Royal Bengal', who created a landmark by becoming the first Indian winner at the tournament. He defeated Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling match.
The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his previous first-round matches, implied this landmark win could have “created a pathway to a billion potential” darts players from his homeland.
“I don’t know right now. I’m emotional, I’m thrilled,” Kumar expressed. “If you dream it, anything is achievable. This vision motivated me ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He added with a light-hearted prediction: “I’m sorry, ten years from now if you have eight people in the world championship entering to Bollywood music, you know who started it.”
Other Opening Day Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an impressive 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 saw off Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he eased past Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutchman beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Concluded the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.
