"I tried to shush the crowd down, no one wants to win like that" - Stephen Bunting attempted in vain to prevent whistling against Luke Humphries

Stephen Bunting provided a shock in the last sixteen of the Masters. 'The Bullet' defeated reigning world champion Luke Humphries 10-7.

“It’s a massive confidence boost for me,” Bunting beams post-match. “When you’re playing against the World Champion and world number one, you know you’ve got to produce something close to your best, and I think my finishing tonight got me over the line. I feel like I’m playing the best darts I’ve ever played, and I believe I can win again.”

Read also

Schedule Sunday afternoon session 2024 Masters including Van Gerwen-Chisnall, Aspinall and Wright in Quarter-Final action

Bunting was again loudly supported by the crowd as has become the custom when he takes to the stage. "It's unbelievable to be honest. The 'Let's go Bunting Mental' hashtag and everything seem to be working. The TikToks I'm doing, just social media in general, it shows a different side of me. It shows I'm a human being and a normal person. At Anfield, the crowd is the 12th man and here they got me over the line."

That same crowd again whistled out at Humphries when the World Champion was throwing for a double however. "I only heard it in the last leg and I tried to shush the crowd down. I was at the back of the stage because no one wants to win a game like that. But I think I produced a good enough performance to get over the line anyway."

Read also

"I'm the first man to admit that I'm struggling, let me play": Nathan Aspinall fires back after revealing vile social media abuse

In the quarterfinals, Bunting will take on Peter Wright. "You can never underestimate Peter Wright. What he's done for this game and where he is at the minute, he's still playing Premier League and he can still do it on his day. But if I play my game I have a good chance."

Read also

Peter Wright says sorry to Chris Dobey after remarkable interview: "It wasn't meant to be a dig at him personally"