"It was bitter sweet": Stephen Bunting reflects on breathtaking European Tour weekend

Stephen Bunting was one of the key players at the European Darts Open last weekend. 'The Bullet' made it to the quarter-finals, but drew attention to himself with a whirlwind match in the third round.

Thanks to an average of 117.12, Bunting won 6-0 over his compatriot Owen Bates. In this match Bunting recorded an 11-darter and three 12-darters. The average earned him a new personal best and the fourth highest average ever on the European Tour.

“It was bitter sweet this weekend if I am honest. I was well below my best in the first round but did well to stick in there and get the win," said Bunting. "Then against Owen [Bates] on Sunday afternoon, everything landed just perfectly. You sometimes get those matches where you feel like you’re just not going to miss and fortunately, that was the case.

With the 6-0 win over Bates, Bunting reached the quarterfinals of a Euro Tour tournament for the fourth time this season. In the quarterfinals, Bunting faced Damon Heta, but after a dramatic start, 'The Bullet' fell behind 5-1. Bunting came back to 5-5, but still lost 6-5.

“But when I needed to back that up later in the day, I let myself down a little with a really slow start. It’s always going to be difficult in a race to six to claw things back from 5-1, especially when you are playing someone with the quality of Heta.

“Of course I was delighted to fight back and draw level but once I managed to do that, I really needed to take advantage of having the darts in the decider and get the win.

“If I had of started stronger then who knows, it may well have been me in that semi-final but that’s the way it goes. You don’t get to decide when you are going to play well or not and I was disappointed even though I did get a must hit match dart for the win.

Bunting will play two Players Championship tournaments in early July before the World Matchplay is scheduled later that month. ''I have a very busy few months coming up so I will take heart from another positive run to the last session of a European Tour tournament and keep going.”