(INTERVIEW) Bunting heads to Blackpool quietly confident despite tough draw: "I've beat Gerwyn at the Matchplay before and I know how to do it"

Returning to the Winter Gardens for the 9th time in his career, Stephen Bunting has only once previously made it past the second round. If he is to do so again this year, he'll have to overcome a tricky first-round tie against Gerwyn Price.

Currently ranked world number 24, Bunting comes into the World Matchplay carrying some solid, if unspectacular form. "I think I've been steady. I've been unlucky in some games. I look at my seasonal stats and my average is hovering around the 94/95 mark which I think is pretty good," the former Lakeside champion says. "But the TV is always different."

As mentioned, 'the Bullet' faces last year's losing finalist in the opening round on Saturday night. "This is the second biggest major on the tour. To play one of the best players in the world is a tough ask but I'm capable of doing it. I've beat Gerwyn at the Matchplay before and I know how to do it." he says confidently. "I've just got to make sure that I play my best game and then I'll have a chance."

Bunting's prior Winter Gardens victory over Price came in an all-time Matchplay classic, with 'the Bullet' taking the win in a tiebreak. Understandably, Bunting has fond memories of that encounter and is looking to use it as inspiration.

"If you've got an opponent you've played a few times it's also good to look back at past games. I watched the game back against Gezzy the other week and I was unlucky when beat me at the World Championship and at the World Grand Prix when he beat me in the semi-finals," he recalls. "We always seem to have good games. We bring the best out of each other and as long as it's not too hot up on that stage I should be okay."

In that aforementioned game against Price, Bunting was trailing for most of it and he believes his never-say-die attitude is one of his biggest strengths. "There's been Pro Tour games where I've been 5-0 down and I've come back to win," he says. "I just show my fight and never give up. I've shown that quality, that I'll never give in, even if my back is against the wall and I'm getting battered, things can change in a second."

In the build-up to the Matchplay, Bunting has been practising with Nathan Aspinall and it seems to have benefitted both players. "I've known Nathan a long time, we were always friendly on the tour," Bunting explains. "One day I just thought to myself, 'I need to be playing against the best in the world regularly to get better.'"

"We decided before the Worlds last year to do it and I had a really good run so I could see the practice was paying off," he continues. "Now that the Premier League has finished we've been able to pick up where we left off and it's going really well. Hopefully, both of our results reflect the practice."