Stephen Bunting Survives Scare to Progress at PDC World Championship
Stephen Bunting, ranked World No 4, narrowly advanced to the second round of the PDC World Championship by defeating Sebastian Bialecki 3-2 in a tie-breaker at Alexandra Palace. Bunting began strongly, averaging 119.4 and achieving a 160 checkout in the second set, but Bialecki managed to fight back to level the match, with a wasp briefly distracting him during play. Ultimately, Bunting edged the deciding fifth leg to secure victory.
Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who made history as the tournament's first Indian winner by beating Richard Veenstra 3-2 in an earlier first-round match. Kumar expressed that the win was overwhelming and noted he had dreamed of this moment since 1994, with hopes that his success might inspire greater interest in darts in India.
Other notable first-round results included Darren Beveridge’s 3-0 win over Dimitri Van den Bergh, Jonny Tata’s 3-0 victory against Ritchie Edhouse, Dom Taylor overcoming Oskar Lukasiak 3-0, Joe Cullen defeating Bradley Brooks 3-0, Wesley Plaisier’s 3-1 win over Lukas Wenig, and James Hurrell beating Stowe Buntz 3-1.
