Stephen Bunting averted an enormous upset as he edged previous Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki 3-2 within the first spherical of the World Darts Championship.
Bunting squandered a 2-0 lead in units after an outstanding begin and was taken to the primary prolonged deciding set at this 12 months’s match, profitable it 4-2 in legs.
‘The Bullet’ will subsequent face India’s Nitin Kumar, who made historical past by turning into the primary participant from his nation to win a match on the World Championship earlier on Sunday.
“Playing at Ally Pally you go through all the emotions. I was lucky to get away with that one,” Bunting instructed Sky Sports activities Darts.
“I have to regroup, get again on the apply board, and prepare for the subsequent sport. I heard Toby [my son] shouting my identify, I’ve acquired nice assist behind me, nice household.
“That is the nervous one out of the way. I promise I will be better in the next round.”
Bunting got here out of the blocks flying with a 119.40 common to assert the primary set and was producing a few of his greatest darts within the final six months.
He continued that rampage within the second set with two ton-plus checkouts of 121 and 160. Nonetheless, his degree out of the blue dropped and Bialecki received all three legs in a row to take the third set.
The Pole made that 5 consecutive legs by breaking early within the fourth and held that benefit to take the rollercoaster contest right into a deciding set.
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Bunting hits ton-plus finishes in opposition to Sebastian Bialecki
Bunting stepped up his sport with some large scoring however Bialecki held throw and was inside one leg of victory at 2-1, just for Bunting to carry his nerve and ship the match to a tie-break state of affairs the place a participant has to win by two clear legs.
Bunting, a semi-finalist eventually 12 months’s World Championship, broke his opponent’s throw within the fifth leg and acquired over the road with D18 to seal a spot within the second spherical.
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The Alexandra Palace crowd serenades Stephen Bunting for his ‘Titanium’ walk-on music on the World Darts Championship
Dimitri Van den Bergh’s nightmare 2025 concluded with a first-round defeat to Scottish debutant Darren Beveridge as he was whitewashed 3-0.
Van den Bergh had not performed televised darts since April after deciding to take a break from the game to concentrate on his well being and well-being.
The Belgian solely performed within the behind-closed-doors Gamers Championship occasions within the run-up to the World Championship and he was came upon by a formidable Beveridge, who solely misplaced one leg.
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Darren Beveridge defeated Dimitri Van den Burgh in straight units on his World Darts Championship debut
“You have got no idea, this is absolutely fantastic. I have dreamed of this since I was 13 years old,” Beveridge instructed Sky Sports activities Darts.
“He has not been playing for a few months so it is hard to expect what he is going to do but he is Van den Bergh. This is one of the greatest days of my life.
Elsewhere in the evening, Dutchman Wesley Plaisier beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1 to set up a possible match against Gerwyn Price, while England’s James Hurrell beat American Stowe Buntz 3-1.
Cullen rocks Ally Pally as Kumar makes historical past
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Nitin Kumar beats Richard Veenstra within the first spherical of the World Championship
Within the afternoon session, Nitin Kumar made historical past by turning into the primary Indian to win a match on the World Championship.
He defeated Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 with 9/12 on the doubles. ‘The Royal Bengal’ defied 5 ton-plus finishes from the Dutchman to advance to the subsequent spherical.
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Kumar offers his response after beating Veenstra
Joe Cullen recorded his second-highest World Championship common in a powerful win over favorite Bradley Brooks. Cullen averaged 99, hit 5 maximums and a excessive checkout of 116 as he received 9 of the 11 legs on provide in a formidable victory.
Debutant Dom Taylor stormed to a formidable straight-sets victory, proscribing Oskar Lukasiak to only one leg received throughout the match.
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Dom Taylor impressed on his Ally Pally debut in a primary spherical win over Oskar Lukasiak on the World Championship with three 100+ checkouts
The 27-year-old Bristolian nailed three ton-plus checkouts 114, 110 and 100 en path to victory. And Jonny Tata defeated former European Champion Ritchie Edhouse 3-0 in a whitewash victory on debut.
The Kiwi grew to become the primary New Zealander to win because the 2019 Worlds, the place Cody Harris defeated Martin Schindler.
What’s subsequent?
Day 5 on Monday on the World Darts Championship sees one other bumper double session day of motion reside on Sky Sports activities Darts.
Within the afternoon, Brendan Dolan kicks issues off in opposition to Tavis Dudeney, earlier than Cameron Menies performs Charlie Manby and Mensur Suljovic faces David Cameron. The session concludes with Peter Wright vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
Within the night from 7pm, we see Martin Lukeman vs Max Hopp, Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Andy Baetens, Jonny Clayton vs Adam Lipscombe and Connor Scutt vs Simon Whitlock.
Who will win the Paddy Energy World Darts Championship? Watch each match completely reside till January 3 on Sky Sports activities’ devoted darts channel (Sky channel 407). Stream darts and extra high sport with NOW.
