Stephen Bunting avoided a major upset as he beat Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki 3-2 in the first round of the World Darts Championship.
Bunting squandered a 2-0 lead in the set after a stellar start and won the leg 4-2 to advance to the first extended deciding set of this year’s tournament.
‘The Bullet’ will next face India’s Nitin Kumar. He made history by becoming the first Indian to win the World Championships on Sunday morning.
“Playing at Ally Pally, you go through all the emotions, and I was lucky to get through them,” Bunting said. sky sports darts.
“I need to regroup and get back on the practice board and get ready for the next game. I heard my son, Toby, screaming my name. I have great support behind me. It’s a great family.”
“It’s nerve-wracking. I promise it will be better next round.”
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Watch hilarious footage of Emma Paton and Mark Webster as the world’s best darts antics ahead of the World Championships. (Photo caption: @paddypower)
Bunting came out of the blocks averaging 119.40 to take the first set and was producing some of his best darts in the past six months.
He continued that madness in the second set with over two tons of checkouts of 121 and 160. But his level suddenly dropped and Bialecki won all three legs in a row to take the third set.
Paul broke early in the fourth, made five straight legs and maintained that advantage to take the rollercoaster contest to a deciding set.
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Bunting had a tremendous finish against Sebastian Bialecki.
Bunting stepped up the game with a big score, but Bialecki grabbed the throw and was within one leg of the score at 2-1, but Bunting held his nerve and sent the match into a tie-break where the players had to win over two legs.
Bunting, who advanced to the World Championship semifinals last year, broke up his opponent’s throw in the fifth game and crossed the line with D18 to advance to the second round.
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The Alexandra Palace crowd were serenaded by Stephen Bunting’s ‘Titanium’ walk-on tunes at the World Darts Championship.
Dimitri Van den Bergh Nightmare 2025 ended with a first round loss to the Scottish debutant. Darren Beveridge He was whitewashed 3-0.
Van den Bergh has not played darts on television since April after deciding to take some time off from the sport to focus on his health and wellbeing.
The Belgian had only competed in closed-door Players Championship events ahead of the World Championships and was spotted by the impressive Beveridge, who was missing only one leg.
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Darren Beveridge beat Dimitri Van den Burgh in straight sets on his World Darts Championship debut.
“You have no idea. This is absolutely fantastic. I’ve dreamed of this since I was 13,” Beveridge said. sky sports darts.
“He hasn’t played in a few months so it’s hard to expect what he will do, but he is Van den Berg. Today is one of the greatest days of my life.
Elsewhere in the evening, Dutchman wesley placer A 3-1 win over Germany’s Lukas Wenig set up a match against Gerwyn Price, while England James Hurrell Beat American Stowe Buntz 3-1.
Cullen rocked the Ally Pally as Kumar made history.
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Nitin Kumar beat Richard Veenstra in the first round of the World Championship.
In the afternoon sessionNitin Kumar He created history by becoming the first Indian to win a World Championship.
He beat Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2, 9/12, in doubles. ‘The Royal Bengal’ denied the Dutchman a 5-ton finish and advanced to the next round.
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Kumar reacts after defeating Veenstra.
joe cullen A stunning win over favorite Bradley Brooks gave him the second-highest World Championship average. Cullen averaged 99, maxed out 5 and checked out high on 116, winning nine of the 11 legs on offer in an impressive win.
debut dom taylor It was an impressive straight sets win, with Oskar Lukasiak only winning one leg the entire match.
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Dom Taylor impressed in his Ally Pally debut, earning a first-round win over Oskar Lukasiak at the World Championships with three 100+ checkouts.
The 27-year-old Bristolian checked out 114, 110 and 100 over three tons to win. and Johnny Tata A debut whitewash victory over former European champion Ritchie Edhouse 3-0.
The New Zealander became the first New Zealander to win the title since the 2019 World Championships when Cody Harris defeated Martin Schindler.
What’s next?
Day 5 of the World Darts Championship on Monday brings another bumper double session action live on Sky Sports Darts.
The afternoon sees Brendan Dolan take on Tavis Dudeney, Cameron Menies plays Charlie Manby and Mensur Suljovic takes on David Cameron. The session concludes with Peter Wright vs. Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
From 7pm we see Martin Lukeman v Max Hopp, Dirk van Duijvenbode v Andy Baetens, Jonny Clayton v Adam Lipscombe and Connor Scutt v Simon Whitlock.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live exclusively until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky Channel 407). Stream the best sports including darts with NOW.
