'Everything is coming together' declares bullish Bunting

Stephen Bunting is aiming to build upon his stunning opening round display at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship, when he takes on Germany's Florian Hempel for a place in the last 16 on Thursday afternoon.

A rampant Bunting demolished Ryan Joyce in front of a raucous Ally Pally crowd on Saturday, producing the performance of the tournament so far to reaffirm his title credentials at London's Alexandra Palace.

The former Lakeside Champion lived up to his billing against Joyce, posting a tournament-high 107.28 average and rattling in five maximums to complete a straight-sets victory.

The performance epitomised Bunting’s progress in 2023, which has seen him reach three televised ranking quarter-finals for the first time since 2014.

“If I continue playing like that, I’m going to rise up the rankings but it’s a hard process," conceded Bunting, provisionally ranked 16th on the PDC Order of Merit.

"I need to keep working and doing what I’m doing but it’s important to keep my feet on the ground, and keep believing in the process of what I’m doing.

“It’s not just what I’m doing on the oche, it’s away from the oche with the hypnotherapist and the psychologist in the past; everything’s coming together, and I feel like a totally different player now.”
 
The former World Championship semi-finalist ignited his impressive season with a run to the last eight of darts’ biggest tournament 12 months ago, and he ranks seventh on the averages list for 2023.

The man renowned for throwing the lightest darts on tour switched his set-up from 12 grams to 18 grams earlier in the year, and credits this change for his renewed confidence and resurgence.

“I asked Target [my darts manufacturer] about developing a new dart and they said: 'What about those 18 gram darts we sent you?’ and I’d forgotten about them," Bunting revealed.

“I literally got them out the cupboard and started playing with them. I hit two nine-darters and missed double 12 for a third nine-darter in the same day, and I thought these were the darts for me.”

The 38-year-old's resurgence has coincided with his huge surge in popularity over the past 12 months, and he received a hero’s welcome against Joyce, before firing his way into the third round.

Bunting's already sizeable fanbase has exploded after his exploits on TikTok over the past year, building a following of nearly 60,000.

His viral clips have seen him garner the support of more fans than ever before, and Bunting revealed the emotion he felt hearing his hashtag - #letsgobuntingmental - chanted around Ally Pally.

“My manager manages all my social media and it’s always 'Let’s Go Bunting Mental’," continued the 2021 semi-finalist.

"I always tell him off because no one ever sings it, but then last week, walking out everyone was singing it, and I was like: ‘Oh my word!’

“Every little tweet he sends out has been worth it for that moment. If I never ever play darts again, that moment will live with me until the day I die.”

Bunting could face three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen in the last 16, in a repeat of their quarter-final clash at last month's Players Championship Finals, which saw the Dutchman prevail in a last-leg thriller.

Van Gerwen booked his spot in round four with a straight-sets victory over compatriot Richard Veenstra on Wednesday night, although Bunting must navigate a tough test against Hempel to set up a rematch from Minehead.

Hempel produced a stunning comeback to dump out Dimitri Van den Bergh in round two, landing a match-saving 151 checkout before becoming the first player in World Championship history to hit back-to-back ten-darters en route to victory.

2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Thursday December 28
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Florian Hempel v Stephen Bunting (R3)
Joe Cullen v Ryan Searle (R3)
Ross Smith v Chris Dobey (R3)