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The tournament's fourth seed narrowly avoided an early exit to advance into the second round of the world darts championship on Sunday.

Bunting, who reached beaten semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before securing a hard-fought victory at Alexandra Palace.

A Turbulent Encounter

Bunting made a flying start, posting a superb 119.4 as he powered through the opening set. He looked in total control after checking out 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 enabled Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to draw level. Bunting steadied himself in the final set, but was still taken to the wire before winning it 4-2.

“Performing at Alexandra Palace you feel all the feelings,” Bunting stated on broadcasters. “I was aware Sebastian was going to be a challenge and even at 2-0 he kept fighting. I am lucky to come through that one.”

Kumar Makes Landmark Victory

Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who created a landmark by becoming the pioneering Indian at the tournament. He defeated the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought match.

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

“Words fail me right now. I’m overwhelmed, I’m delighted,” Kumar stated. “If you dream it, anything is possible. This was my dream ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”

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

Additional First-Round Results

• Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an strong start, averaging 91.62 in a one-sided 3-0 win over Belgium's 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 commanding 3-0 victory.
• Dom Taylor: The fellow 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 overcame Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
• James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.