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The tournament's fourth seed survived a monumental scare to advance into the next stage of the world darts championship on the opening weekend.

The Merseysider, who reached losing semi-finalist last year, was taken all the way to a dramatic fifth leg by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a 3-2 victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.

A Rollercoaster Encounter

Bunting stormed out of the blocks, averaging an incredible 119.4 as he powered through the opening set. Victory seemed assured after landing a spectacular 160 finish to seize the second set.

Nevertheless, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he won just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This enabled 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 winning it 4-2.

“Competing at Alexandra Palace you go through all the feelings,” Bunting explained to Sky Sports. “I was aware Sebastian was going to be a challenge and even at 2-0 he kept fighting. I am lucky to come through that one.”

Kumar Creates Groundbreaking Victory

Bunting's next opponent will be Nitin Kumar, who achieved a first by becoming the initial victor from India at the tournament. He overcame the Netherlands' Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought contest.

The veteran player, who had been defeated in all four of his previous first-round appearances, suggested this landmark win could have “opened the floodgates to a billion potential” darts players from his homeland.

“Words fail me right now. I’m emotional, I’m happy,” Kumar stated. “With belief, anything is possible. This vision motivated me ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”

He joked with a humorous warning: “I’m sorry, ten years in the future if you have multiple players in the world championship entering to Indian film songs, you know who started it.”

Additional Opening Day Action

• Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an impressive start, averaging 91.62 in a comprehensive 3-0 win over Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh, who won just one leg.
• Jonny Tata: Another debutant, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a clear 3-0 victory.
• Dom Taylor: The other newcomer defeated Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 3-0 scoreline.
• Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in excellent touch 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.