"I want to win this title more than anyone" - Emotional Stephen Bunting has Humphries backing ahead of Luke Littler showdown in PDC World Darts Championship semi-final

Stephen Bunting has qualified for the semifinals of the PDC World Darts Championship for the second time in his career. 'The Bullet' impressively dispatched Peter Wright 5-2 in the quarter-finals on New Years Day at the Alexandra Palace and will now face Luke Littler in the last 4.

Bunting struggled to contain his emotions just afterwards. "If you'd have seen me 10-15 minutes ago, I wouldn't have been able to speak. I was just overwhelmed with tears. To come into this tournament last year at world number 25 and now I'm world number five, it's a pinch me moment to be honest." said the 39-year-old Englishman in his post-match press conference. "But it shows that the hard work behind the scenes is paying off and yeah, I've got a whole day now to recover, recuperate and make sure that the best version of me turns up tomorrow."

As mentioned pre-match, Bunting's son idolises Peter Wright, with the two time world champion his favourite player (other than his father) on tour. As such, when 'Snakebite' started to fight back, getting from 4-0 down to 4-2, Bunting was well aware of the threat. "I know how good Peter Wright is. He's my son's favourite player for a reason," he explains. "That was also in the back of my mind. So I knew I needed to put him to the sword but yeah, he was so hard to shake off, and the emotion of the whole event got on top of me to be honest."

After training together pre-tournament, Bunting received support from Luke Humphries before the match, whose world title reign was ended at the hands of Wright in the previous round. "He gave me a hug and he said he'd love me to take the title," Bunting reveals with a smile. "So that means a lot to me coming from a player like him."

In the semifinals, Bunting will take on the daunting task of teenage sensation Luke Littler. "I want to win this title more than anyone in the world,” Bunting previews. “It is a massive achievement for me being back in the semi-finals, but I’m here to fight for the title, and I can’t wait for tomorrow night. I’m going to work hard and I’m going to make sure I am ready for this fight!”