'The Bullet' Weathers Huge Fright as Nitin Kumar Makes A Landmark for Indian Darts.
The tournament's fourth seed narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the second round of the prestigious tournament on the opening weekend.
Bunting, who was a beaten semi-finalist last year, was taken all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before securing a 3-2 victory at Alexandra Palace.
An Eventful Match
Bunting began in blistering fashion, posting a superb 119.4 en route to powering through the first set. Victory seemed assured after landing a spectacular 160 finish to seize the second set.
Yet, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he managed just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This let Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to pull back. Bunting found his rhythm in the decider, but was still taken to the wire before winning it 4-2.
“When you are playing at Ally Pally you feel all the emotions,” Bunting explained to Sky Sports. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am fortunate to get away with that one.”
Kumar Creates Groundbreaking Victory
Bunting's second-round foe will be Nitin Kumar, who created a landmark by becoming the initial victor from India at the event. He overcame the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought match.
The 40-year-old, who had been defeated in all four of his prior first-round appearances, suggested this breakthrough could have “paved the way to a billion potential” darts players from India.
“Words fail me at this moment. I’m overwhelmed, I’m delighted,” Kumar stated. “Dream big, anything is achievable. I’ve dreamed of this ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He concluded with a light-hearted warning: “I’m sorry, ten years down the line if you have multiple players in the world championship entering to Bollywood music, you know who started it.”
Additional First-Round Action
- Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a comprehensive 3-0 win over Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh, who managed 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 identical 3-0 margin.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he eased past Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutchman overcame Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over America’s Stowe Buntz.
