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

Bunting, who reached beaten semi-finalist last year, was pushed all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before securing a hard-fought victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.

A Rollercoaster Match

Bunting began in blistering fashion, averaging an incredible 119.4 to power through the opening set. He looked in total control after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to take the second set.

Nevertheless, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he won 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 found his rhythm in the final set, but was still pushed to the limit before winning it 4-2.

“When you are playing at Alexandra Palace you feel all the feelings,” Bunting stated on broadcasters. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he kept fighting. I am lucky to get away with that one.”

Kumar Secures Landmark Victory

Bunting's second-round foe will be Nitin Kumar, who achieved a first by becoming the initial victor from India at the event. He defeated the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought contest.

The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his previous first-round matches, remarked this landmark win could have “opened the floodgates to a billion” darts players from India.

“I don’t know right now. I’m emotional, I’m delighted,” said Kumar. “If you dream it, anything is achievable. This was my dream ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”

He concluded with a light-hearted prediction: “I’m sorry, a decade down the line if you have multiple players in the world championship entering to Bollywood music, don’t blame me.”

Further Opening Day Results

• Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an strong start, averaging 91.62 in a comprehensive 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won just one leg.
• Jonny Tata: Another debutant, 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 good form 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 America’s Stowe Buntz.