The Merseyside thrower Survives Significant Scare as 'The Royal Bengal' Creates A Landmark for India.
The 2024 semi-finalist narrowly avoided an early exit to progress into the next stage of the world darts championship on Sunday.
The Merseysider, who reached beaten semi-finalist last year, was pushed all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a hard-fought victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.
An Eventful Match
Bunting began in blistering fashion, posting a superb 119.4 to power through the opening set. Victory seemed assured after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.
Nevertheless, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he won 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 found his rhythm in the final set, but was still taken to the wire before winning it 4-2.
“Competing at Alexandra Palace you feel all the feelings,” Bunting told Sky Sports. “I knew Sebastian was going to be a challenge and even at 2-0 he kept fighting. I am lucky to get away with that one.”
Kumar Secures Groundbreaking Win
Bunting's second-round foe will be 'The Royal Bengal', who made history by becoming the initial victor from India at the championship. He overcame Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought contest.
The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his prior first-round appearances, implied this landmark win could have “paved the way to a billion potential” darts players from his homeland.
“I don’t know today. I’m emotional, I’m happy,” Kumar expressed. “With belief, anything is achievable. This was my dream ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He concluded with a humorous warning: “I’m sorry, a decade from now if you have eight people in the world championship walking on to Bollywood music, don’t blame me.”
Further First-Round Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a dominant 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 commanding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The other newcomer beat Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in good form as he eased past Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutchman beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.
