"I've enjoyed every minute of it": Stephen Bunting rested and refreshed, ready for World Series of Darts Finals title tilt
PDC
This weekend's World Series of Darts Finals promises to be a spectacle at the AFAS Live in Amsterdam. The tournament starts Friday night with a true parade of stars led by first series leader Stephen Bunting. In his first match, he meets Danny Noppert.
ADVERTISEMENT
A dream year for 'The Bullet'
Stephen Bunting has had an impressive darts year. The Liverpool-born dart player had an exceptionally strong campaign at the World Series of Darts. He won both the tournaments in Bahrain and Copenhagen. He also reached two more finals: in Den Bosch and in Gliwice, Poland. This proved his constant form and versatility on the international stages.
This combination of successes earned him not only a lot of confidence, but also the status of first series head at the World Series Finals. That is a position he wears with pride.
"It's been a great World Series campaign. I've enjoyed every minute of it," declared Bunting. "I think I've performed well across the board and I can't wait to go to Amsterdam and hopefully lift the title as the number one seed!"
Fit, fresh and ready for battle
What makes Bunting even stronger is that he feels excellent physically and mentally heading into the tournament. He has allowed himself to rest the past few days and stresses that this gives him extra energy to go full out in Amsterdam.
ADVERTISEMENT
"My game is in a really good place to be honest. I'm playing really well and I've had a few days off, so I'm going into this weekend feeling fresh."
Stephen Bunting in action
Tough first hurdle
The draw, however, brought Bunting little luck. His first opponent is Danny Noppert, the down-to-earth Frisian known for his solidity and coolness in the big moments. Noppert is also in fine form, with good results on the Pro Tour leading up to this tournament.
"Danny is a great player. He's played well on the ProTour this week, so he'll be going in with confidence, but I just need to make sure I bring my best game to enable myself to beat him," Bunting said realistically.
ADVERTISEMENT
Should Bunting succeed in beating Noppert, another dangerous obstacle awaits him in the second round. There he will face the winner of the clash between Krzysztof Ratajski and top Northern Irish talent Josh Rock. Two opponents who can beat anyone on their day.
Ambitious but realistic
Despite the tough route ahead of him, Bunting is optimistic. His performance over the past year gives him confidence that he can compete for the title until the final day. The Englishman exudes a combination of modesty and determination: he knows it will not be an easy task, but at the same time he firmly believes in his own abilities.
With his characteristic composure and a style of play that has become increasingly consistent in recent months, he is among the tournament's top favorites. A victory in Amsterdam would crown his already impressive year and further cement his status as an absolute world-class player.
ADVERTISEMENT
The darts world is eagerly awaiting the start of the World Series Finals, and with Stephen Bunting as the top series leader, there is plenty of reason for excitement and anticipation. The Englishman is experiencing his best season in years, but knows that maximum focus is needed right from the first arrow to overcome the tricky obstacles. With opponents like Noppert, Ratajski and Rock in his path, a leaden road awaits him, but Bunting is ready.
🇧🇭🇩🇰 - @sbunting180
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) September 11, 2025
🇦🇺🇳🇿 - @LukeTheNuke180
🇳🇱 - @RobCross180
🇺🇸 - @lukeh180
🇵🇱 - @Gezzyprice
Who will lift the title in Amsterdam on Sunday? 👀 pic.twitter.com/yKeIBNU7BE
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 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- 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
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026