Premier League Darts 2026 Round-up | Stephen Bunting picks up first nightly win in much-improved showing as Josh Rock pins perfection in Belfast

Stephen Bunting has opened his account in the 2026 Premier League Darts with a convincing night in Belfast, defeating Gian van Veen 6-2 in the final in a night that was headlined by a nine-darter by the home hero Josh Rock.

Bunting had travelled to Belfast without a win in the Premier League this year. Three nights of misery was followed by a fantastic night where he averaged 106 in his opening two ties to cement his spot in the final.

Van Veen makes a third Premier League final on debut as he looks to halt this run of losing in finals, most recently faltering in the Poland Darts Open final. He improved as the night went on to make it to this stage.

Bunting was sloppy at first on the doubles but escaped any punishment to break in the very premature stages of the match. A maximum from the Dutchman put some pressure on Bunting, but the Englishman shrugged it off and nailed double eight with his final dart to move further in front.

With his first double of the final van Veen gets on the board with a clinical 70 checkout in two, but Bunting responds with a 106 checkout to regain his two-leg cushion. This was backed up with the former Masters champion finding double 18 right after the 23-year-old missed two darts to close the gap again.

Two doubles were missed for ton+ checkouts. First double 16 for a 108 from Bunting with ‘The Giant’ then missing the bull for a show stopping 170 finish. Bunting cleaned up and was within touching distance of winning the final. Van Veen, who was looking down the barrel of another final defeat, prolonged the match for a while longer before Bunting sealed a fantastic night in the Northern Ireland capital with a brilliant nightly win.

The league leader Jonny Clayton came to Belfast full of confidence until he met a rampant Bunting who averaged over 106 in the first 6-0 win of the 2026 Premier League Darts, not including the walkover in Glasgow.

Bunting broke instantly before a second 123 of the night on the bull saw him move into a commanding 3-0 advantage. Clayton was not finding his beat gear, and it would cost him as Bunting continued to play at the high level. He followed that with a 100 checkout before two legs later almost winning it with a 147 outshot. He came back to clean up as Clayton ended the night in 11 points.

Following that was a semi-final clash which completely contrasted the prior one. Gerwyn Price pushed van Veen all the way but missed a match dart enroute to losing 6-5 in a cracking match of darts.

Van Veen missed eight darts on a double in the opening two legs as he fell 2-0 behind. He then went 100% on the doubles in the next three legs including a 160 outshot with Price on 40 as he sails into a 3-2 lead.

The match then stayed on throw with both players raising their level as they put on a show in front of the crowd. It went to a final leg decider where Price missed a match dart on the bull by quite a distance. Van Veen had just one dart to seal a third Premier League in 2026 and nailed double 16 to set up a tie against Bunting.

Luke Littler has not got off to the perfect start in this Premier League Darts. He has got four points so far with two of them coming thanks to van Gerwen pulling out of Glasgow. His dire form continued as he lost out to Clayton in a 6-3 defeat. His poor form on the outer ring cost him dearly against the Welshman who took his chances.

A 156 checkout early on broke the throw before the world number one got involved with the crowd after a 112 checkout to keep him in it. Clayton soon got the match done and compounded the two-time world champion to more misery on the Premier League circuit.

The following match saw the world number two Luke Humphries join Littler in going for an early bath after a 6-4 defeat to Bunting. ‘Cool Hand Luke’ has also not got off to the best start in this campaign with missed doubles costing him on a number of occasions, including this one.

Humphries missed three darts to go 3-1 ahead on double 18 as Bunting pinned that target enroute to a 4-2 lead, which included a scintillating 143 checkout. Humphries incredible scoring kept him in it but those missed doubles would prove to be pivotal. He broke back before a 123 on the bull saw Bunting have the chance to throw for the match and took his chance. Both players averaged 106 but the more clinical Bunting advanced.

Michael van Gerwen could not return to the Premier League with a won, spurning a 5-3 lead to Price as he lost 6-5. ‘Mighty Mike’ missed night three in Glasgow due to illness and was hoping to get back to action with a bang. This was not the case in a sloppy match of darts. After it looked most bleak, Price managed to wrangle two breaks from the final three legs to dump out the seven-time champion who cannot continue his fine start.

The final quarterfinal saw Rock’s poor debut in the Premier League continues after a 6-2 loss to van Veen, but all the talking points will be centred around one amazing leg.

Rock was not at the level he can play at with van Veen pouncing. Three ton+ checkouts on the trot including 109, 167 and 113 went before he took out 32 with ease to move 5-1 ahead. Then, Rock added his name to the long list of nine-darters in Belfast as he struck perfection to his and the crowd’s immense delight. He was unable to get anything else from the match, but it was a special moment for the Northern Irishman who will treasure that memory for the rest of his life.