Stephen Bunting avoided a major upset by defeating Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki 3-2 in the first round of the World Darts Championship.
Bunting got off to a strong start, taking a 2-0 lead in the set and going into the first overtime deciding set of the tournament, where he won the leg 4-2.
‘The Bullet’ will next face India’s Nitin Kumar, who created history on Sunday by becoming the first player from his country to win a match at the World Championships.
“When you play Ally Pally, you go through a whole range of emotions. I was lucky to avoid those emotions,” Bunting told Sky Sports Darts.
“I have to pick myself up and get back on the practice bench and get ready for the next game. I heard Toby (my son) yelling my name. I have great support behind me, a great family.”
“I can’t help being nervous anymore. I promise I’ll be better next round.”
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Watch the hilarious wind-up as the world’s top darts players are pranked by Emma Payton and Mark Webster ahead of the World Championships. (Photo: @paddypower)
Bunting won the first set with an average of 119.40 off block flying and was producing some of his best darts in the past six months.
He continued his rampage in the second set, posting double-ton checkouts of 121 and 160. However, his level suddenly dropped and Bialecki won all three legs in a row to take the third set.
The Polish player broke early in the fourth set to win five consecutive legs and maintained that advantage to take a rollercoaster battle into the deciding set.
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Bunting scores massive finish against Sebastian Bialecki
Bunting stepped up his game with some big points, but Bialecki held his throw and was one leg away from winning 2-1, but Bunting became discouraged and the match went into a tie-break situation where he had to win by two legs.
Bunting, a semi-finalist at last year’s world championships, broke his opponent’s throw in the fifth leg and crossed the line in D18 to book his place in the second round.
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Alexandra Palace crowd serenades Stephen Bunting’s ‘Titanium’ walk-on music at World Darts Championship
Dimitri van den Bergh’s nightmare 2025 came to an end in the first round, when he lost 3-0 to Scottish representative Darren Beveridge.
Van den Bergh has not played darts on TV since April, having decided to take a break from the sport to focus on his health and wellbeing.
The Belgian had only competed in the behind-closed-doors Players Championship event in the run-up to the World Championship and was spotted by the impressive Beveridge with only one leg missing.
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Darren Beveridge beats Dimitri van den Bergh in straight sets on his World Darts Championship debut
“You can’t imagine it, but this is really amazing. I’ve been dreaming of this since I was 13,” Beveridge told Sky Sports Darts.
“It’s hard to predict what he’ll do because he hasn’t played for a few months, but he’s Van den Bergh. This is one of the best days of my life.
In other matches of the night, Dutchman Wesley Plazier defeated Germany’s Lukas Wennig 3-1 to set up a potential match-up with Gerwyn Price, while England’s James Harrell defeated America’s Stow Bunts 3-1.
Karen rocks Ally Pally as Kumar makes history
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Nitin Kumar defeats Richard Veenstra in first round of World Championship
In the afternoon session, Nitin Kumar made history by becoming the first Indian to win a match at the World Championship.
In doubles, he defeated Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 on 9/12. “The Royal Bengal” defied the Dutchman’s finish of over 5 tons and advanced to the next round.
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Kumar talks about his reaction after defeating Veenstra
Joe Cullen had the second-highest average performance at the World Championships with a stunning victory over favorite Bradley Brooks. Karen averaged 99, achieved five highs, posted a high checkout of 116, and won nine of the 11 legs on offer for an impressive win.
Debutant Dom Taylor scored a stunning straight-sets victory, while Oscar Lukasiak was held to a one-legged victory throughout the match.
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Dom Taylor impresses in Ally Pally debut with three 100+ checkouts over Oscar Lukasiak at World Championships
The 27-year-old Bristolian completed checkouts of more than three tons, a 114, a 110 and a 100 en route to victory. And Jonny Tata defeated former European champion Richie Edhaus in his debut match, 3-0.
The Kiwi is the first Kiwi to win the title since the 2019 world championship, when Cody Harris defeated Martin Schindler.
What’s next?
More spectacular double session matches will be played live on Sky Sports Darts on Monday’s fifth day of the World Darts Championship.
In the afternoon, Brendan Dolan takes on Tavis Dewdney, followed by Cameron Menise taking on Charlie Manby and Mensur Suljovic taking on David Cameron. The session ended with Peter Wright vs. Noah Lynn van Leuven.
From 7pm you can watch Martin Lukeman v Max Hopp, Dirk van Duijvenbode v Andy Batens, Johnny Clayton v Adam Lipscomb and Connor Scutt v Simon Whitlock.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407) until January 3rd. Stream darts and other top sports now.
