“Like going back to the BDO days” – Stephen Bunting embraces the ‘honour’ of playing darts in Saudi Arabia

Stephen Bunting walked off stage in Riyadh feeling relieved as much as satisfied.

A 6-1 win over Tomoya Goto sent him into the quarter finals of the 2026 Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, part of the World Series of Darts, but it was not just the result that stayed with him. It was the atmosphere.

“I’d say like going back to the early days of the BDO,” Bunting said afterwards. “Very, very quiet. Massive respect for both players. You could hear a pin drop at times.”

It was not what he expected, and it caught him off guard. “Being over here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, we didn’t know what to expect with the crowd and stuff and it was pretty quiet. It caught me a bit off guard to be honest. I’m just happy to get over the line. I know what to expect now tomorrow, so roll on tomorrow.”

On the board, Bunting made sure the uncertainty off it did not turn into uncertainty on it.

An opening-leg 180 settled him straight away, and he followed it by pinning double top for a strong hold of throw. When Goto could not get a dart at double from 100 in the second leg, Bunting punished on double 14 to break and move 2-0 ahead.

Three out of four on the doubles made it 3-0, then Goto busted his score in the next leg and Bunting hit double 20 to stretch the lead to 4-0. The Japanese player had a chance to stop the run when he missed the bull for 121, but Bunting returned to take out 68 and move one away at 5-0.

Goto eventually got a leg on the board, but Bunting closed out the match on double eight to seal the 6-1 win and book his place in the last eight. “It was a decent performance,” Bunting said. “I can push on now.”

The quiet crowd made the match feel very different from what Bunting is used to. “It’s almost more nerve-wracking when it goes quiet and all you can hear is your darts hitting the board,” he admitted.

The conditions did not help. “I felt really cold as well, which was making me even more nervous,” he said. “I don’t know whether that was nerves, but my hands went freezing and it made me even more nervous. I’m just happy to get that first game out of the way and push on for tomorrow.”

He compared the setting to other unusual nights in his career. “It reminded me of the pandemic Worlds, when everyone was sat at tables. Very respectable. That does change how you feel walking on.”

This time, there was no walk through a packed crowd. “We’re used to walking on through the crowd. This was through a little tunnel and straight onto the stage. Normally I’m singing my walk-on song and enjoying it, but that’s how nervous I felt. I didn’t know how the crowd was going to react to ‘Titanium’. But I’m happy to get through.”

Away from the stage, Bunting spoke warmly about his first visit to the country.

“Everyone’s been very welcoming since we landed. The hotel is second to none, really lovely. The food’s great, the people are great. Getting to the venue, the vibes in the back room practising, then going on stage not knowing what to expect with the crowd… but the crowd were great and I can’t wait to play tomorrow.”

He also spoke about what it means to be part of the first group of PDC stars to play here. “Being part of the World Series is an honour,” he said. “We’re trying to show our sport in a lot of different countries. Eddie Hearn is out here as well, our CEO, so it shows how important it is. All the players want to win, so it adds that bit more pressure."

“My time not just here in Saudi but in Bahrain as well has been brilliant," Bunting added. "These are memories you keep with you.”

Bunting knows more now than he did before he walked on stage for the first time in Riyadh. “I didn’t know what to expect, but tomorrow I’ll be ready. I know what to expect now and I can’t wait for the rest of the tournament.”

The crowd may have been quiet, the air may have been cold, and the nerves may have been sharper than usual. But the result was exactly what Bunting needed.

He arrived in Riyadh unsure of how the night would unfold and left with a place in the quarterfinals and a clearer sense of what this new stage demands. With the first test passed, his focus now shifts from adapting to delivering.