Famously once the home of RMS Titanic, it was Stephen Bunting who stood tallest – proud, unyielding and immaculately composed beneath the Belfast lights with an exhibition of tungsten magnificence.
Much like the legendary liner once constructed on these very shores, The Bullet cut an imposing silhouette. On last year’s campaign, after an exasperating sequence of eight fruitless attempts to ignite his Premier League, the Liverpudlian finally shattered the drought and claimed the nightly spoils.
In a pleasing twist of symmetry, history chose to rehearse itself.The Premier League Darts roadshow rolled into Northern Ireland with anticipation crackling in the air. The fervent local faithful were primed to salute their World Cup conquering talisman, Josh Rock.
The Antrim Ace did not disappoint. In a moment of incandescent theatre, he bestowed upon his people a sublime nine dart masterpiece – a sequence of tungsten perfection that will be replayed in national folklore for decades.
This city, it seems, harbours an affinity for darting alchemy. Tonight was their fourth. In 2016, Adrian Lewis authored the venue’s maiden nine-darter against James Wade. Five years later, Gerwyn Price indulged in outright extravagance, landing two perfect legs on the same evening – one dispatched against Michael van Gerwen, the other, fittingly enough, once more at the expense of the usual recipient of the feat, Wadey.With such precedent established, the weekly Thursday night odyssey commenced in customary fashion – the quarter-finals.
And it required barely a handful of legs before betting slips across the land were rendered ceremonially obsolete.
JONNY CLAYTON 6-3 LUKE LITTLER (QF1)
For the second consecutive week, Jonny Clayton subdued what had become a most persistent irritation – the prodigious brilliance of Luke Littler. In Glasgow seven days earlier, The Ferret had finally exorcised a hoodoo that had lingered for over a year. In Belfast, he administered a similarly emphatic reminder that momentum in elite sport is deliciously perishable.
The league leader erupted from the blocks with unrelenting ferocity, annexing the opening three legs in swift succession. In a race to six against opposition of this calibre, such an early deficit borders on catastrophic. The reigning World Champion did momentarily reduce the arrears to a solitary leg, hinting at yet another theatrical recovery, but thereafter the contest progressed serenely with throw.
That equilibrium suited the 2021 Premier League champion perfectly, and Clayton advanced with composed authority.
STEPHEN BUNTING 6-4 LUKE HUMPHRIES (QF2)
For Stephen Bunting, faint echoes of last season’s protracted wait for points had begun to reverberate. Those anxieties, however, were emphatically extinguished with the dismissal of reigning champion and last year’s Belfast victor, Luke Humphries.This was one of those rare encounters that felt unworthy of a vanquished participant.
Both tungsten artisans delivered a spectacle of formidable opulence, each registering averages north of 106. The critical divergence lay not in scoring but in surgical precision. Humphries enjoyed the greater volume of opportunities at the outer ring, yet the Liverpudlian’s clinical efficiency proved the decisive differentiator.
GERWYN PRICE 6-5 MICHAEL VAN GERWEN (QF3)
The indomitable Michael van Gerwen arrived under a cloud of recent illness, having withdrawn from engagements in Belfast, Poland and Leicester. In contrast, Gerwyn Price had been positively incandescent at the Mattioli Arena days earlier, serenely annexing the title. Conventional wisdom therefore leaned toward a Welsh triumph.
That prognosis proved accurate – albeit by the slenderest of margins. Van Gerwen began with admirable sharpness, surging into a 3-1 advantage and later establishing a 5-3 lead with a golden opportunity to terminate proceedings. The seven-time Premier League champion, however, spurned his chance. Price, ever predatory, accelerated with blistering conviction, seizing three consecutive legs and extinguishing any further resistance.
GIAN VAN VEEN 6-2 JOSH ROCK (QF4)
Josh Rock, the World Cup hero, received a rapturous ovation from his adoring compatriots inside the SSE Arena Belfast. Regrettably for the partisan crowd, victory eluded him once more, leaving the debutant still point-less after four arduous weeks.Yet consolation arrived in incandescent fashion.
Trailing 5-1 and having failed to register a maximum, Rock conjured perfection from the ether – consecutive 180s followed by immaculate completion to seal a nine-dart masterpiece. The eruption within the arena was seismic.Onto the semi-finals…
STEPHEN BUNTING 6-0 JONNY CLAYTON (SF1)
Bunting delivered a performance of ruthless magnificence, replicating his 106 average to dismantle the league leader. To whitewash any opponent in Premier League competition is noteworthy; to do so after arriving without a solitary point magnifies the statement exponentially. The Liverpudlian was imperious, silencing sceptics with resounding clarity.
GIAN VAN VEEN 6-5 GERWYN PRICE (SF2)
If the first semi-final lacked volatility, the second overflowed with it. Gian van Veen and Price, two of the season’s most incandescent protagonists, traded blows in a contest of nerve and nuance. Price established early ascendancy with an immediate break, yet parity was swiftly restored and neither man could forge meaningful daylight.
Legs were exchanged with unyielding obstinacy, culminating in a fitting decider. Price fashioned a match dart at the bullseye but failed to authentically threaten. Van Veen, embodying composure beyond his years, pinned the requisite double under acute duress, acutely aware that his opponent hovered ominously on tops.…and then there were two.
STEPHEN BUNTING 6-2 GIAN VAN VEEN (F)
Finally, Stephen Bunting did not merely register a token presence on the league ladder; he appropriated the full five points available with an authoritative, uncompromising victory over Gian van Veen in the evening’s crescendo. It was emphatic, clinical and richly deserved.
For the young Dutchman, it represents yet another exhibition of composure and burgeoning class. However, at this juncture of the season, there must be a creeping exasperation in repeatedly navigating treacherous draws, only to find the final hurdle obstinately immovable. Consistency without a title can become a particularly cruel companion.
The night, though, was unequivocally Bunting’s. After a dispiriting sequence of three consecutive defeats, The Bullet demonstrated commendable fortitude and competitive elasticity to recalibrate, regroup and ultimately reign supreme. It was resilience personified – a reminder that elite sport is often less about uninterrupted dominance and more about the capacity to respond when adversity bares its teeth.
Attention now pivots to Wales, where the Premier League caravan rolls into Cardiff. The vociferous faithful will undoubtedly greet their World Cup winning duo, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, with rapturous acclaim. The atmosphere promises to be febrile, partisan and intoxicating in equal measure.
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
