"I honestly do believe I’m one of the best players in the world. I believe I deserve to be in this Premier League": Emotional Stephen Bunting silences critics in Belfast
PDC
What an evening for Stephen Bunting. In a raucous SSE Arena, he opened Night 4 of the Premier League Darts with his highest average ever in the competition and ended the same night with the weekly title in hand. For the St Helens thrower, it felt not just like a win, but like a release.
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Bunting was too strong for Gian van Veen in the Night 4 final of the Premier League Darts, winning 6–2.
“What a wonderful night,” Bunting said. “I think, in many ways, last year really helped me. Obviously losing seven or eight on the bounce – losing seven or eight on the bounce last year really helped me, to be honest. It gave me a lot of experience in this field. When you're playing in the Premier League, you're playing against the best of the best.
“Overjoyed, to be honest. What a win. This has got to rank up there as one of the best wins of my career. I was a bit emotional early on after my first game, but I held it together. I’m really happy with the performance. The crowd was unbelievable.”
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Learning from setbacks
The road to this moment was anything but simple. Last year, Bunting endured a gruelling spell in the Premier League, losing several matches in a row – an experience he now sees as formative.
“Losing seven or eight on the bounce last year really helped me, to be honest. It gave me a lot of experience in this field. When you're playing in the Premier League, you're playing against the best of the best.”
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The Premier League is unforgiving. Margins are thin and quality is relentless. Bunting often found himself edged out by players producing their very best.
Stephen Bunting won Night 4 of the Premier League Darts 2026
“I still believe I’m one of the hardest players to beat, but people find a way and play their best game. I always seem to lose to the winner – and tonight I’m the winner, so no one can beat me.”
Keeping emotions in check
The emotion of the occasion was clear. “I was a bit emotional early on after my first game, but I held it together,” he admitted.
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In previous weeks, performances had been solid, yet results did not follow. This time, the crucial moments went his way.
Mental resilience
Remarkably, Bunting refused to allow his confidence to dip during the tougher weeks.
“Do you know what? I’ve come off social media. I’ve got a great team behind me. I’m not looking at the negatives, I’m looking at the positives.”
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He even sought extra mental reinforcement on matchday morning. "I had hypnotherapy this morning at eight o’clock and we always think positive. Even over the last three weeks when it’s not been going well and I’ve not been getting the results, I felt like I played well on the European Tour, felt great on the ProTour, got to a final – I just ran out of steam in the final.
“I honestly do believe I’m one of the best players in the world. I believe I deserve to be in this Premier League and this goes a long way to showing why I should be here.”
Balancing family and elite sport
Behind the scenes, Bunting is balancing elite-level darts with family life.
“I’m the only darts player at the moment who’s got a one-year-old son at home, so I’ve got to juggle family life as well.”
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On whether the pressure had lifted, he was honest:
“I never felt like the pressure was on – I did last year, I’ll admit that. But I think this year I’ve worked really hard. I’ve got a lovely family at home.
“The fans in here tonight – wow. For them to stick by me through thick and thin, everything I’ve been through, the adversity, coming out of that dark cloud – these are the nights that I play for. Thank you very much.”
Colleagues and camaraderie
Bunting also made a point of praising his fellow professionals, including Josh Rock. “Josh Rock is one of the best players in the world and he’s struggling at the moment, but things will come good. You saw him tonight at 9:30, the place was electric.
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“I love Josh to bits. I love every lad in this tournament – they’re all top lads.”
And perhaps the biggest shift was internal.
“Thankfully now I’ve got that monkey off my back, whatever you call it. I can relax. I’m so happy with this win. Words can’t describe it, to be honest."
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
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