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The tournament's fourth seed edged through a tense battle to progress into the second round of the prestigious tournament on Sunday.

'The Bullet', who reached beaten semi-finalist last year, was pushed all the way to a final-set shootout by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before securing a 3-2 victory at Alexandra Palace.

A Turbulent Match

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

Nevertheless, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he managed just one leg over the next two sets. This let Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to draw level. Bunting regained his composure in the decider, but was still pushed to the limit before securing it 4-2.

“Competing at Alexandra Palace you feel all the feelings,” Bunting told broadcasters. “I knew Sebastian was going to be a challenge and even at 2-0 he kept fighting. I am fortunate to get away with that one.”

Kumar Creates Landmark Victory

Bunting's second-round foe will be Nitin Kumar, who made history by becoming the first Indian winner at the championship. He overcame Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought match.

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

“I’m lost for words at this moment. I’m overwhelmed, I’m thrilled,” said Kumar. “If you dream it, anything is possible. 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 eight people in the world championship walking on to Indian film songs, you know who started it.”

Additional Opening Day Action

• Darren Beveridge: The Scotland's debutant made an convincing 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 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 defeated Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 margin.
• Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he eased past Bradley Brooks 3-0.
• Wesley Plaisier: The Dutchman beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
• James Hurrell: Concluded the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.