"It would be fantastic if I can become the first player to retain this title" - Stephen Bunting chases World Series record in Copenhagen

Stephen Bunting is on a quest of becoming the first player to win back-to-back titles in the Nordic Darts Masters in the latest edition of the 2026 World Series of Darts.

The tournament will be hosted at the Forum Copenhagen in the Danish capital with eight of the best PDC players in the world clashing against eight Nordic and Baltic representatives. It is the third World Series tournament of the year after the darts made a stop in the Middle East. Michael van Gerwen got the ball rolling in Bahrain before two-time world champion Luke Littler won the inaugural Saudi Darts Masters.

Those two will return in Copenhagen. Van Gerwen won the first event in 2021. 2024 champion Gerwyn Price is eyeing the chance to double his tally in this tournament. Jonny Clayton and James Wade make World Series of Darts returns with Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen and Bunting completing the lineup.

'The Bullet' reminisced from his run last year. Bunting began with a 6-3 win over Swede Oskar Lukasiak before taking down Clayton by the same scoreline. He edged Nathan Aspinall 7-5 before defeating Rob Cross 8-4 in the final for a second World Series title.

“I have really great memories from last year,” Bunting reflected. “Being in the wonderful city of Copenhagen is always a pleasure. It’s such a beautiful place and to win the title there was a great honour.

“I played some great matches along the way against Oskar [Lukasiak], Jonny [Clayton] and Nathan [Aspinall]. To then beat Rob Cross in the final after Rob had beaten me in the final of the Dutch Masters was a nice way to end the tournament on a high. It would be fantastic if I can become the first player to retain this title. It’s not just a great event but it’s one of the nicest trophies to win also, so that’s a huge incentive.”

Bunting endured another disappointing Premier League Darts campaign but did add a second nightly win of 2026 in the final night of the league phase in Sheffield, averaging over 106 to take down Humphries in the final.

This will give him a much-needed confidence boost heading to Copenhagen. “Winning any night in the Premier League is always hard,” Bunting stated. “We’re playing the best players in the world, so to win two nights - I’m ecstatic. After a long campaign I can say I really enjoyed being part of it and I’m happy to have finished fifth. It’s given me the confidence to push on now for the rest of the season and beyond.”

It is another Swede in the first round on this occasion, but this time Viktor Tingstrom. “In all honesty I’m not sure what to expect,” the reigning champion said. “I’ve seen a few of his results on the tour and looked at his averages, but I’ll just focus on putting in a top performance and concentrate on my own game.”