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The tournament's fourth seed edged through a tense battle to progress into the next stage of the world darts championship on the opening weekend.

The Merseysider, who was a losing semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a final-set shootout by Polish qualifier Sebastian Bialecki before securing a 3-2 victory at the iconic Ally Pally venue.

A Rollercoaster Encounter

Bunting began in blistering fashion, posting a superb 119.4 en route to powering through the opening set. He looked in total control after checking out a spectacular 160 finish to seize the second set.

Nevertheless, ‘The Bullet’ cooled off, and he managed just one leg over the next two sets. This enabled Bialecki – who remained unfazed even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to pull back. Bunting regained his composure in the final set, but was still taken to the wire before securing it 4-2.

“When you are playing at Ally Pally you go through all the emotions,” Bunting explained to Sky Sports. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he never surrendered. I am fortunate to come through that one.”

Kumar Makes Landmark Victory

Bunting's second-round foe will be Nitin Kumar, who created a landmark by becoming the initial victor from India at the tournament. He beat Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a closely-fought contest.

The 40-year-old, who had been defeated in all four of his previous first-round appearances, suggested this landmark win could have “created a pathway to a billion” darts players from his homeland.

“Words fail me right now. I’m emotional, I’m thrilled,” Kumar stated. “Dream big, anything is achievable. This vision motivated me ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”

He joked with a humorous prediction: “I’m sorry, a decade in the future if you have eight people in the world championship walking on to Bollywood music, you know who started it.”

Further First-Round Action

• Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a one-sided 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who managed just one leg.
• Jonny Tata: Another first-timer, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a clear 3-0 victory.
• Dom Taylor: The fellow newcomer saw off Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the identical 3-0 scoreline.
• Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in good form as he comfortably defeated Bradley Brooks 3-0.
• Wesley Plaisier: The Dutch player beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
• James Hurrell: Rounded off the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over American Stowe Buntz.