'The Bullet' Survives Significant Fright as Nitin Kumar Creates A Landmark for Indian Darts.

Stephen Bunting edged through a tense battle to advance into the next stage of the world darts championship on Sunday.

Bunting, who was a beaten semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a 3-2 victory at Alexandra Palace.

An Eventful Match

Bunting made a flying start, posting a superb 119.4 en route to powering through the opening set. Victory seemed assured after landing a spectacular 160 finish to take the second set.

However, his momentum stalled, and he won just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This let Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to square the match. Bunting found his rhythm in the decider, but was still pushed to the limit before taking it 4-2.

“Competing at Ally Pally you go through all the emotions,” Bunting stated on Sky Sports. “I was aware Sebastian was going to be tough and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am lucky to get away with that one.”

Kumar Makes Historic Win

Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who made history by becoming the initial victor from India at the tournament. He beat the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought match.

The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his previous first-round appearances, remarked this landmark win could have “opened the floodgates to a billion” darts players from his homeland.

“I don’t know today. I’m emotional, I’m happy,” said Kumar. “Dream big, anything is achievable. This was my dream ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”

He added with a humorous prediction: “I’m sorry, a decade down the line if you have multiple players in the world championship walking on to Indian film songs, don’t blame me.”

Further Opening Day Results

• Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an strong start, averaging 91.62 in a comprehensive 3-0 win over Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won 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 fellow newcomer defeated Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 scoreline.
• Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in good form 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 American Stowe Buntz.