'The Bullet' Survives Major Scare as The Indian pioneer Creates History for Indian Darts.
Stephen Bunting narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the next stage of the world darts championship on the opening weekend.
'The Bullet', who reached losing semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a 3-2 victory at Alexandra Palace.
A Rollercoaster Battle
Bunting began in blistering fashion, averaging an incredible 119.4 en route to powering through the first set. Victory seemed assured after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to take the second set.
Nevertheless, his momentum stalled, and he won just one leg over the next two sets. This allowed Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to pull back. Bunting found his rhythm in the final set, but was still pushed to the limit before winning it 4-2.
“Performing at Alexandra Palace you feel all the feelings,” Bunting explained to broadcasters. “I was aware Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am lucky to come through that one.”
Kumar Secures Landmark Victory
Bunting's second-round foe will be 'The Royal Bengal', who achieved a first by becoming the pioneering Indian at the championship. He defeated the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought match.
The 40-year-old, who had been defeated in all four of his previous first-round matches, implied this landmark win could have “created a pathway to a billion” darts players from his homeland.
“I don’t know right now. I’m overwhelmed, I’m delighted,” Kumar expressed. “If you dream it, anything is possible. This vision motivated me ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He added 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 comprehensive 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won just one leg.
- Jonny Tata: Another debutant, from New Zealand, dashed the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a resounding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The other newcomer beat Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 margin.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he comfortably defeated 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.
