"I’ve found that missing piece of the jigsaw" - Bunting confident his new darts can bring him success after final run at the German Darts Open

Stephen Bunting impressively managed to reach the final at the German Darts Open last weekend. Although 'the Bullet' did eventually lose out on the overall victory to Krzysztof Ratajski, signs are positive for the former Lakeside champion.

On his way to the final, Bunting managed to win over Joe Cullen (6-5), Martin Schindler (6-1), Andrew Gilding (6-5) and Wesley Plaisier (7-6). The result in Jena, Germany, was a huge boost for Bunting, who was playing a stage tournament for the first time with his new arrows.

For years, Bunting played with darts weighing only 12 grams. Recently, however, the Englishman decided to try his hand at 18-gram darts, a considerable difference to his old darts.

''To lose in a final is of course gut-wrenching but Krzysztof was the better player in that game. Naturally, and in hindsight, I am thrilled to go all the way to the end especially as it’s the first time using my new 18g darts on television," Bunting said on his own socials. “In practice, they’ve been flying beautifully for me. And if the airline hadn’t of misplaced my luggage last month, I’d have had a couple more weeks under my belt throwing with them."

Still, there was small disappointment at missing out on the title. '“But look, I have to be happy with reaching another final. Just disappointed I didn’t start quicker and make more of a game of it. If you’d have offered me runner-up on the flight over to Germany, I would have snatched your hand off."

Bunting is very positive about the coming months. “I genuinely think that with these new darts, I’ve found that missing piece of the jigsaw. So now hopefully, I can look to pick up a trophy on the big stage very soon.”