"I'm the People's Champion": Stephen Bunting hopes Masters win is just the start after popular maiden PDC TV title win
PDCMonday, 05 February 2024 at 08:02
Stephen Bunting bookended his incredible resurgence over the last 18 months by sealing the 2024 Masters with an incredible 11-7 win over Michael van Gerwen in the final at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bunting who has become more and more a fans' favourite was a popular winner not only in the venue but on social media and continues to gain an army of followers. He said he was called the People's Champion and he certainly delivered on that.
"I think the confidence is always high, I always speak about winning tournaments and being in stuff but obviously you've got to do it. To do it on one of the big stages and the way the crowd was behind me was fantastic. I'm just so happy to have got over the line and got the win," said Bunting.
"The hashtag LetsGoBuntingMental was a big thing, but it started two or three years ago. It's only just started picking up from a tournament six months ago. It coincided with a bit of TikTok, Twitter and Instagram I was doing, you can see it in the followers, you can hear it in the venues even in the World Championship. Can't remember who said it but I'm the people's champion and I will take that role all day long as long as the crowd get behind me and supports me."
But he doesn't want to rest on his laurels and said that the hard work firmly starts now.
"It's always nice to win it in front of my family, management and a crowd that is so respectful for me. I can't of wished for a better venue to win my first PDC title, this is a just a catalyst I hope. The hard work has still got to happen and I want to push my game to another level. I don't want to stop there and I want to train to continue to flow."
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
claps 5visitors 4
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I loved Jan and loved his walk on music "Explode" by Jordan & Baker. I think if he stuck around the BDO he definitely would have been World Champion, should have won in 2014, he never really showed any of his talent in the PDC. I remembered he worked in a bank or in finance and maybe that was his priority, he was also a fan and interested in magic. Definitely should have achieved much more in darts than he did. Wherever you are nowadays Jan, hope all is well and I was always a fan.richieburnettrocks11-09-2026
- Not much of a tournament really,is it? Now they've all pulled out,it's open for everyone. I'm sure if you bought tickets,you'd be disappointed. Doesn't that seem to bother the withdrawals? Not at all!!rick6710-09-2026
- Need to see her take part in the womens tour. She'll break the inernet.medinabello08-09-2026
- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
Loading
