Stephen Bunting Endures Huge Test as Nitin Kumar Makes History for India.

The tournament's fourth seed survived a monumental scare to move into the next stage of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.

The Merseysider, who reached beaten semi-finalist last year, was taken all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a hard-fought victory at Alexandra Palace.

An Eventful Match

Bunting stormed out of the blocks, posting a superb 119.4 as he powered through the first set. He looked in total control after hitting a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.

Nevertheless, his momentum stalled, and he managed just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This allowed Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp landed on his shoulder – to pull back. Bunting found his rhythm in the decider, but was still taken to the wire before taking it 4-2.

“Performing at this venue you experience all the feelings,” Bunting told Sky Sports. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am lucky to get away with that one.”

Kumar Makes Groundbreaking Win

Bunting's second-round foe will be 'The Royal Bengal', who created a landmark by becoming the first Indian winner at the tournament. He overcame the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling match.

The veteran player, who had been defeated in all four of his prior first-round matches, implied this landmark win could have “paved the way to a billion” darts players from his homeland.

“I don’t know at this moment. I’m overwhelmed, I’m delighted,” said Kumar. “Dream big, anything is possible. I’ve dreamed of this ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”

He joked with a humorous prediction: “I’m sorry, a decade down the line if you have multiple players in the world championship walking on to Indian film songs, you know who started it.”

Additional Opening Day Results

• Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a comprehensive 3-0 win over Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh, who managed just one leg.
• Jonny Tata: Another debutant, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a commanding 3-0 victory.
• Dom Taylor: The fellow newcomer saw off Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 3-0 scoreline.
• Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he comfortably defeated Bradley Brooks 3-0.
• Wesley Plaisier: The Dutch player overcame Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
• James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.