The Merseyside thrower Survives Significant Fright as 'The Royal Bengal' Makes A Landmark for India.
The 2024 semi-finalist narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the next stage of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.
'The Bullet', who reached losing semi-finalist last year, was forced 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 Battle
Bunting made a flying start, posting a superb 119.4 as he powered through the opening set. He looked in total control after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.
Nevertheless, ‘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 regained his composure in the decider, but was still pushed to the limit before securing it 4-2.
“Performing at Ally Pally you experience all the feelings,” Bunting told broadcasters. “I knew Sebastian was going to be tough and even at 2-0 he never gave in. I am lucky to come through that one.”
Kumar Makes Historic Victory
Bunting's second-round foe will be 'The Royal Bengal', who achieved a first by becoming the first Indian winner at the event. He overcame the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling contest.
The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his previous first-round matches, implied this landmark win could have “created a pathway to a billion potential” darts players from India.
“I don’t know today. I’m ecstatic, I’m delighted,” Kumar stated. “If you dream it, anything is possible. This vision motivated me ever since I watched 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 entering to Indian film songs, don’t blame me.”
Other First-Round Results
- Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an impressive start, averaging 91.62 in a dominant 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won just one leg.
- Jonny Tata: Another first-timer, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a resounding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The fellow newcomer beat Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he comfortably defeated Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutch player 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.
