Stephen Bunting's comments on Luke Littler speak volumes: 'We're all very lucky'
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Stephen Bunting doesn’t lose on Wednesday nights. For three years, the world number eight has reigned supreme in his local darts league. But as he gears up for the sport’s grandest stage at Ally Pally, he’s proving that no oche is too small to leave his mark.
The 39-year-old has turned 2024 into something of a breakthrough year. Already a staple on the PDC circuit, Bunting boasts a semi-final finish at the 2021 World Championship and years of consistency at the sport’s highest levels. But this year, Bunting is not just contending - he’s winning.
His February triumph at the Masters, where he outclassed some of the game’s biggest names, has solidified his status as a genuine contender. Write him off at your peril - 'The Bullet' is locked, loaded, and aiming for glory. For Bunting, darts is as much about staying connected to his roots as it is about rising to the occasion on the grandest stages. He still plays every Wednesday night in his local darts league. Speaking to Ladbrokes, the sponsors of the UK Open and Players Championship Finals, he reflected on the unique pressures of local league darts.
“The local darts is great - I’ll never forget my roots, and I’ve been playing for the last three years now,” he said. Remarkably, Bunting remains unbeaten in his local league during that time. But even for a PDC professional, local darts is not for the faint-hearted. Sometimes it’s actually harder to play local league because you’re expected to win - and you’ve got the added pressure of being in a team, so you don’t want to let your teammates down. The pressure of that is immense,” he explained.
