Stephen Bunting Survives Major Scare as Nitin Kumar Secures History for Indian Darts.
The tournament's fourth seed survived a monumental scare to move into the second round of the world darts championship on the opening weekend.
The Merseysider, who reached beaten semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a final-set shootout by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before securing a hard-fought victory at Alexandra Palace.
A Turbulent Encounter
Bunting began in blistering fashion, posting a superb 119.4 en route to powering through the first set. The win appeared certain after checking out a spectacular 160 finish to take the second set.
However, ‘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 landed on his shoulder – to square the match. Bunting steadied himself in the decider, but was still taken to the wire before securing it 4-2.
“Competing at Alexandra Palace you feel all the feelings,” Bunting explained to broadcasters. “I knew Sebastian was going to be tough and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am lucky to get away with that one.”
Kumar Creates Landmark Win
Bunting's second-round foe will be 'The Royal Bengal', who achieved a first by becoming the initial victor from India at the championship. He beat the Netherlands' 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, remarked this breakthrough could have “opened the floodgates to a billion” darts players from his homeland.
“I don’t know at this moment. I’m emotional, I’m happy,” Kumar stated. “With belief, anything is possible. This vision motivated me ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He added with a humorous prediction: “I’m sorry, a decade from now if you have eight people in the world championship entering to Bollywood music, you know who started it.”
Further First-Round Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an convincing 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, dashed the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a commanding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The fellow newcomer defeated Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 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: Concluded the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over America’s Stowe Buntz.
