“I cried when I found out Jürgen Klopp was leaving Liverpool” - Stephen Bunting on heartache at Liverpool icon's exit

Euro 2024 is currently well underway in Germany and darts players from across the PDC are getting involved in the football talk. For Stephen Bunting however, it's Liverpool and the Premier League that take priority with it comes to football.

“I cried when I found out Jürgen Klopp was leaving Liverpool,” Bunting revealed in conversation with a disbelieving Wayne Mardle, on the new, Club501 with Wayne Mardle podcast. "It actually felt like I’d lost a family member. When I watched the video I thought it was going to be a joke, but when I heard the statement it was gut-wrenching to be honest. He means that much to the people of Liverpool because of what he’s done for the city and the team."

Klopp ensured himself a place in the annals of Liverpool's history over his nine years at the helm, winning the Champions League, the FA Cup, the League Cup twice, the Club World Cup and most importantly, the Premier League in 2020, ending the Merseyside club's long wait for top division glory in England.

When every door closes however, a new one opens and with Klopp leaving the Liverpool job, Dutchman Arne Slot will step up in 2024/25. “It is a massive pair of shoes to fill but hopefully Arne Slot can shake things up a bit and get the team playing in the way we all know they can," Bunting says of the new boss. "I would hope some of the key players don’t leave with Klopp, but there’s nothing the fans can do about it. The club seems to be going in the right direction and hopefully in the transfer market we can make a few good deals.”

Football wasn't all Mardle and Bunting talked about though, also a topic of discussion was Bunting's infamously light 12g darts, something he has recently change to 18g. "I wish I'd have done it 20 years ago to be honest," Bunting laughs. "The thought behind was obviously, in the big venues that we play in, there's a lot more air in the room and I was finding it really difficult to control the darts."

Since the switch, Bunting has kicked on in his darting career, notably taking his first major success in the PDC at the 2024 Masters. "I feel like they're a lot easier to throw," Bunting says. "And I feel like I'm reaping the rewards to be honest. I'm playing really well and the consistency is there, whereas it wasn't with the 12g, it was in and out. I don't even need to try as hard and I'm playing a lot better."