Everyone’s favourite darting Liverpudlian, Stephen Bunting isn’t just chasing the world title — he’s ready to trade his entire career for it. If obsession had a postcode, Bunting would currently be living at the front gates of Alexandra Palace. The 40-year-old Merseyside marksman has made it abundantly clear: this entire season, every practice session, every bead of sweat, every flight change, every treble drilled… all roads lead to one thing — the World Championship trophy.
And if you think that’s hyperbole, Bunting will personally correct you. When talkSPORT tossed him the kind of hypothetical usually reserved for philosophical debates — win the Worlds but never throw another dart again? — Bunting didn’t blink.
“Yeah, I think I want to win the World Championships that much,” he declared, calm as a monk, deadly as a guillotine. You’ve completed it if you win the Worlds. For me, that’s the pinnacle. You can’t get any better than winning a World Championship… I’d love to win a World Championship and if that was the option, I’d choose it of course.”
This is not the voice of a man casually pursuing a title. This is a bloke plotting his own sporting immortality, willing to sacrifice the entire back half of his darting life for one perfect crowning moment.
The Ghost of Littler Past
Last year’s run ended in a semi-final buzzsaw courtesy of Luke Littler — a 6–1 demolition that would have sent a lesser pro into an existential crisis. Bunting? He treated it like fuel.
“I’m really looking forward to it to be honest,” he said, clearly itching to get the rematch he won’t openly request but absolutely craves.
He heads to Ally Pally as world number four, armed with a season of consistency and silverware. If he’s bothered by that battering from Littler, he hides it expertly.
A Year That Quietly Turned Him Into a Contender
Bunting’s 2025 campaign has been one long reinforcement of the idea that his best days aren’t behind him — they might only just be forming on the horizon. World Series titles? Collected. Premier League appearances? Delivered.
European Tour and Pro Tour victories? On the résumé. He sums it up simply:
“I think I’ve had a successful year so far… winning a few World Series events, getting myself up to world No.4… A lot of things to smile about and just keeping myself positive.”
If darts had a “Most Improved Veteran” award, they’d be engraving his name already.
The Christmas Kingdom of Ally Pally
Plenty of players talk up Alexandra Palace. Bunting romanticises it like a man who’s been writing the same love letter since childhood.
“I think Ally Pally at Christmas time, driving up the hill to the venue, seeing everyone dressed as traffic cones, Superman, Spiderman… It’s just a really great vibe.”
Traffic cones and superheroes aside, Bunting is also acutely aware of the brutal reality: only one name survives the fortnight. He and Littler may joke around away from the glare, but on the oche, sentiment dies.
“There’s several fantastic players… There’s only one person who can lift that trophy and I’ve just got to make sure my name is in that hat.”
The Mission Statement
If Bunting was diplomatic before, the mask slips when asked what it’ll take to stop the reigning champion. He doesn’t sugar-coat it.
“Whoever comes my way needs to be demolished.”
That’s the line of a man who’s done negotiating with fate. The line of a man who’s looked at his career, at his legacy, and chosen violence — sporting violence, but violence nonetheless.
“I’m mentally prepared and I want to make sure I give something to the Bunting army to cheer about and shout me home.”
The message is crystal clear: Bunting is not arriving at Ally Pally just to participate. He’s arriving to take the keys, board up the doors, and refuse to leave without a trophy. If this really is the year of The Bullet, it won’t be subtle. It’ll be spectacular, deafening, and entirely on his terms.
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
