Stephen Bunting avoided a major shock, edging Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki 3-2 in a dramatic first-round match at the World Darts Championship. After racing into a 2-0 lead with a sparkling start, Bunting saw his advantage evaporate and was taken to the tournament’s first extended deciding set, which he won 4-2 in legs.
Bunting will meet India’s Nitin Kumar in round two, after Kumar became the first player from his country to win a match at the World Championship earlier in the day.
‘Playing at Ally Pally you go through all the emotions. I was lucky to get away with that one,’ Bunting told Sky Sports Darts. ‘I need to regroup, get back on the practice board, and get ready for the next game. I heard Toby [my son] shouting my name, I have got great support behind me, great family. That is the nervous one out of the way. I promise I will be better in the next round.’
Bunting began in ruthless fashion, posting a 119.40 average to snatch the opening set and producing some of his best darts in months. He built on that with two ton-plus checkouts of 121 and 160 to take the second set, but his level dipped thereafter and Bialecki fought back, winning three straight legs to claim the third set. Bialecki then broke early in the fourth to force a deciding set.
In the decider Bunting regained his big scoring. After holding throw to reach the tie-break situation (requiring a two-leg lead), he broke Bialecki’s throw in the fifth leg and finished on double 18 to book his place in round two.
Dimitri Van den Bergh, meanwhile, saw a difficult spell continue as he was whitewashed 3-0 by Scottish debutant Darren Beveridge. Van den Bergh had not appeared on television since April while taking a break to focus on his health and well-being, only playing behind-closed-doors Players Championship events in the interim. Beveridge was impressive, losing just one leg in the match.
‘You have got no idea, this is absolutely fantastic. I have dreamed of this since I was 13 years old,’ Beveridge told Sky Sports Darts. ‘He has not been playing for a few months so it is hard to expect what he is going to do but he is Van den Bergh. This is one of the greatest days of my life.’
Other evening results included Wesley Plaisier beating Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1 and England’s James Hurrell defeating American Stowe Buntz 3-1.
Afternoon highlights
– Nitin Kumar made history as the first Indian to win a World Championship match, beating Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 and hitting 9 of 12 attempts on the doubles. Kumar survived five ton-plus finishes from Veenstra to advance.
– Joe Cullen produced his second-highest World Championship average in a dominant performance over favourite Bradley Brooks, averaging 99, hitting five maximums and a high checkout of 116, winning nine of the 11 legs.
– Debutant Dom Taylor impressed with a straight-sets victory, restricting Oskar Lukasiak to a single leg and landing three ton-plus checkouts (114, 110 and 100).
– Jonny Tata beat former European champion Ritchie Edhouse 3-0 on debut, becoming the first New Zealander to win at the Worlds since Cody Harris in 2019.
Evening session results (Sunday December 14)
– 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
What’s next?
Day 5 (Monday) at the World Darts Championship features a double session live on Sky Sports Darts. Afternoon matches: Brendan Dolan vs Tavis Dudeney, Cameron Menies vs Charlie Manby, Mensur Suljovic vs David Cameron, and Peter Wright vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven. The evening session from 7pm includes Martin Lukeman vs Max Hopp, Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Andy Baetens, Jonny Clayton vs Adam Lipscombe, and Connor Scutt vs Simon Whitlock.
Watch every match exclusively live on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407) until January 3. Matches are also available to stream via NOW.