Stephen Bunting survives scare to beat Kai Gotthardt at World Championship

Stephen Bunting was given a huge scare before defeating Germany’s Kai Gotthardt 3-1 in the first round at the World Championship.

Bunting, the reigning Masters champion, narrowly escaped falling 2-0 behind after Gotthardt missed three attempts at double eight and instead the eighth seed levelled the match at 1-1 before cruising to victory.

Gotthardt had made a flying start, landing a hat-trick of 180s and nailing all three of his attempts at double to secure the opening set.

But Bunting took full advantage of his second-set reprieve, winning the last seven legs to secure a second-round match against Dirk van Duijvenbode or Madars Razma.

Filipino Sandro Eric Sosing, a back-to-back PDC Asian Championship finalist in 2023 and 2024, earlier withdrew from his first-round match against Ian White for medical reasons after feeling unwell during practice.

The PDC said: “Sandro Eric Sosing has withdrawn from his match with Ian White on medical grounds.

“Sosing reported chest pains whilst practicing and following an on site assessment by medical staff he has been taken for further treatment.”

Dutchman Alexander Merkx made it a memorable tournament debut by defeating Stephen Burton 3-0 to reach the second round, while fellow countryman Wessel Nijmen won his first match at the Alexandra Palace.

Nijman, a heavy favourite against Cameron Carolissen, was forced to dig deep before clinching a final-leg decider to edge through 3-2 against the South African and book a second-round match against Joe Cullen.