Stephen Bunting survives Sebastian Bialecki scare in World Darts Championship opener

Stephen Bunting survived a huge scare to deny Sebastian Bialecki in a tie break set and set up a showdown against Indian trailblazer Nitin Kumar at the World Darts Championship.

Bunting held his nerve in first tie-break of this year’s showpiece at Alexandra Palace, fending off a valiant fightback from Bialecki to book his place in the second round.

The world number four, aided by an average of 119 in the opening set, raced into a two clear, only for Bialecki to win six of the next seven legs and force a decider.

Bialecki led 2-1 in the decider, but Bunting regained his composure in the latter stages, firing in back-to-back 14-darters to prevail in a rollercoaster clash.

“At 2-0 up, that was not the plan,” said Bunting, semi-finalist here 12 months ago.

“I felt comfortable, I felt in control and for whatever reason I fell asleep.

“To go behind in the match was a travesty to be honest, but I’m so happy I was able to dig myself out of that hole and find a way to win.

“The fans were exceptional throughout the whole game. They really helped me through tonight.”

Bunting will now go head-to-head with Kumar, who also prevailed in a deciding-set thriller against Richard Veenstra to become the first player from India to triumph on the sport’s biggest stage.

Crowd favourite Kumar defied five ton-plus checkouts from Veenstra to celebrate a landmark victory, converting nine of his 12 attempts at doubles in the process.

“It’s not possible to put this into words. I love it, it was beautiful,” said an emotional Kumar.

“I’ve been playing darts for close to 30 years and the dream was always to be World Champion, but you need to take it one step at a time.

“I tried to give it my all and do something I’ve never done to this level and in front of that kind of crowd before; it was wonderful.

“Hopefully this will open the floodgates for darts in India. It has to inspire people!”

Sunday’s double session also saw Joe Cullen defy the bookmaker’s odds for a second year running to thrash Bradley Brooks in straight sets with a 99.3 average.

The former Masters champion dropped just two legs in an emphatic display to ensure a brief return to Ally Pally for the former World Youth champion.

“I’ve been terrible all year, but this is where it matters,” declared Cullen.

“I’m happy with the performance. I finished well and scored well, so I can’t ask for much more to be honest.

“Something comes over me here. I’m just itching to get onto the stage, because this is the tournament that everyone remembers.”

Darren Beveridge cruised through to round two on his World Championship debut, punishing a below-par display from a desolate Dimitri Van den Bergh to set up a showdown with Madars Razma.

Van den Bergh, a semi-finalist in 2023, missed a staggering 16 of his 17 attempts at doubles, and Beveridge duly capitalised to wrap up a comprehensive straight-sets victory.

Dom Taylor and Jonny Tata also enjoyed Ally Pally debuts to remember, overcoming Oskar Lukasiak and Ritchie Edhouse in straight sets respectively.

Taylor converted a hat-trick of ton-plus finishes in his demolition of Swedish star Lukasiak, while DPNZ number one Tata produced an impressive display to dump out 2024 European Champion Edhouse.

However, Lukas Wenig was denied a win on his maiden World Championship appearance, succumbing 3-1 to Wesley Plaisier, who pinned 11 of his 20 attempts at double to cap off a clinical display.

James Hurrell then rounded off Sunday’s action with a hard-fought 3-1 win over American qualifier Stowe Buntz with three maximums to his name.

World Darts Championship 2025/26 Day Four Results

Sunday December 14

First Round

Afternoon Session
Ritchie Edhouse 0-3 Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor 3-0 Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra 2-3 Nitin Kumar
Joe Cullen 3-0 Bradley Brooks

Evening Session
Lukas Wenig 1-3 Wesley Plaisier
Dimitri Van den Bergh 0-3 Darren Beveridge
Stephen Bunting 3-2 Sebastian Bialecki
James Hurrell 3-1 Stowe Buntz