There are competitors who intimidate with volume, and others who unsettle through certainty. Stephen Bunting has always belonged to the latter category – composed, and quietly prepared to disturb the equilibrium of anyone foolish enough to underestimate him.
As the Winmau World Masters returns to Arena MK, the world number seven arrives intent on reclaiming a title he knows how to win. Yet beneath the controlled exterior lies a wonderfully human contradiction. A man untroubled by pressure, stages, or expectation – but utterly undone by swans.
The revelation surfaced not through confession, but through mischief. During a recent Paddy Power prank, a fake interviewer – nudged into action by Sky Sports presenter Emma Paton – attempted to bait Bunting with a fabricated tale about a fear of geese. What they didn’t anticipate was stumbling onto something far stranger, far more personal, and entirely real.
Bunting’s reaction was immediate confusion. “I didn’t know what was going on and wondered how they found out about the swan incident.” The truth, it turns out, has followed him since childhood.
“I was only very young and we’d gone out as a family to Lake Windermere. I was eating an ice cream and a swan came over and took it.” A moment small in scale, but seismic in consequence. “I have feared the swans ever since.”
The details remain vivid. The injustice still stings. “The ice cream cost my mum and dad three quid and I’ve never ever had an ice cream where swans are ever since. I just avoid swans at all cost if I can.” There is humour in the telling, but the resolve is unmistakable. Some lessons are learned once.
Mercifully, his loyalties elsewhere remain unthreatened. “I love Liverpool so I like a Liver bird but none of them have robbed my ice cream!”
Back at the oche, Bunting’s focus sharpens. When he last conquered the World Masters in 2023, the celebration proved… productive. His partner gave birth exactly nine months later, a coincidence he later declined to interrogate too deeply. This time, the ambition is simpler: another title, another statement.
Beyond darts, his heart remains firmly red. Concerned but loyal, he reflected on Liverpool’s recent turbulence. “I think we still need to stick behind the team regardless of what happens.” He has heard the speculation. “I’ve heard a few stories that they could be after the guy from PSG Luis Enrique. And then Xabi Alonso is free as well.” But realism prevails. “No matter what I say, it’s not going to make an ounce of difference!”
Pressure, he believes, helps no one. “I don’t want to put any more pressure on them.” He understands frustration. “I see Virgil wasn’t happy they got booed the other day. I can understand the fans’ frustrations.” Watching from afar, even paradise couldn’t soften disappointment. “I watched the Burnley game in a bar in Bahrain. I’d say in the first half we absolutely dominated that game. To end up drawing is not the Liverpool way.”
Tactically, something feels off. “We just don’t seem to be as attacking and sit back on a 1-0 lead. Things need to change.” Recruitment too. “Letting Marc Guehi go to Man City for £20million is not something we would haven’t done last year. So I don’t understand what’s happening behind the scenes and whether the board are not backing Arne Slot in the transfer market.”
Swans may remain unwelcome. Pressure does not. And as the Masters begin, The Bullet looks ready to make waves – preferably nowhere near a lake.
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
