Stephen Bunting Weathers Huge Fright while The Indian pioneer Secures History for Indian Darts.

The tournament's fourth seed edged through a tense battle to advance into the second round of the world darts championship on the opening weekend.

Bunting, who was a losing semi-finalist last year, was taken all the way to a final-set shootout by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before securing a hard-fought victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.

A Turbulent Battle

Bunting stormed out of the blocks, averaging an incredible 119.4 to power through the opening set. Victory seemed assured after landing a spectacular 160 finish to seize the second set.

However, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he won just one leg over the next two sets. This enabled Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to square the match. Bunting steadied himself in the decider, but was still pushed to the limit before taking it 4-2.

“When you are playing at Ally Pally you go through all the emotions,” 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 Secures Groundbreaking Win

Bunting's second-round foe will be Nitin Kumar, who achieved a first by becoming the initial victor from India at the tournament. He defeated Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling match.

The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his prior first-round appearances, remarked this breakthrough could have “created a pathway to a billion” darts players from his homeland.

“Words fail me at this moment. I’m emotional, I’m delighted,” Kumar stated. “With belief, anything is possible. This was my dream ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”

He joked with a humorous warning: “I’m sorry, a decade in the future if you have multiple players in the world championship entering to Bollywood music, don’t blame me.”

Additional First-Round Action

• Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a one-sided 3-0 win over Belgian 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 clear 3-0 victory.
• Dom Taylor: The fellow 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 Dutch player beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
• James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over America’s Stowe Buntz.