"Punishments need to be brought in, maybe" – Stephen Bunting calls for measures after the much-discussed treatment of Luke Littler in the Netherlands
PDC
Stephen Bunting believes penalties may be needed to curb whistling and other disruptive crowd behaviour at darts events. The Englishman spoke shortly after Luke Littler threatened to skip future tournaments in the Netherlands following his reception in Amsterdam.
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Littler faced frequent boos and whistles during the World Series of Darts Finals. The 19-year-old made no secret of his frustration with the stands and even hinted he might avoid future tournaments in the Netherlands.
For Littler, the tournament ended in the quarter-finals. Jonny Clayton not only halted his title charge in Amsterdam, but also ended his bid to win every major PDC title in 2026.
Bunting can understand why the Amsterdam scenes may have unsettled Littler. Speaking to SPORTbible, “The Bullet” discussed the crowd issue at length.
Bunting understands Littler’s frustration
"I think it’s really hard, isn’t it? Obviously, Luke is the best player in the world. For whatever reason, the crowd got on his back, they didn’t want him to do the clean sweep," said Bunting.
The 41-year-old believes that may have put extra tension on Littler at the oche. "He was probably on edge, anyway, going into the tournament. I think maybe in Germany, maybe in Belgium, I’ve had it a few times where the crowd has whistled out."
Bunting also knows from experience how hard it is to stop that behaviour mid-match. He recalled a recent game where the referee explicitly asked for silence, which had the opposite effect.
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“If you let the crowd know they’re getting to you, it can be ten times worse. It’s a hard one to say, but I don’t like the whistling. I’d rather have someone shouting abuse at me than whistling.”
The sharp whistle, Bunting says, is especially disruptive when a player is focusing on a key dart. “It’s a horrible noise to hear when you’re trying to concentrate,” Bunting admitted. “But I understand it’ll keep happening, no matter how much we talk about it."
That is why the former major winner thinks stricter measures may be necessary. “Punishments need to be brought in, maybe. To give it some sort of stop. Until that happens, it’ll keep happening.”
Littler endured whistles and boos from the Dutch crowd throughout the weekend in Amsterdam.
Hypnosis helps Bunting on stage
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Bunting is doing everything he can to shield himself from external distractions. The Englishman revealed he uses hypnotherapy. He also previously worked with a sports psychologist to change his mental approach to the game.
“I don’t go down a negative path anymore. I always look for the positives in a game,” said Bunting. “I was locking myself away, I was unhappy… I felt like everyone was laughing at me."
That was the moment Bunting sought professional help. "So I went to see a sports psychologist. He trained my brain in a way that I never thought could happen. I’m always walking around with a smile on my face, and that’s one of the reasons why."
Around four years ago he added hypnotherapy. Bunting uses a striking metaphor to explain how he now deals with negative thoughts. “The hypnotism came about four years ago, now. There’s a bucket in your brain that fills up with negative thoughts… now I know how to empty the bucket.”
Littler set to miss upcoming tournaments in the Netherlands
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For now, Littler appears ready to back up his words about the Netherlands. The Englishman will miss the next three PDC events on Dutch soil. Littler has withdrawn from Players Championship 29 and 30 in Den Bosch. His name is also absent from the published entry list for the Dutch Darts Championship.
His absence from the two Players Championship events is not a complete surprise. Before his exit in Amsterdam, Littler had said he would only play Den Bosch if he won the World Series of Darts Finals. That title would have kept alive his bid for an unprecedented clean sweep of the big PDC events.
After losing to Clayton, that motivation disappeared. The Players Championship events could also have earned Littler prize money towards qualifying for the Players Championship Finals later in the year.
His absence from the Dutch Darts Championship in Maastricht stands out more. It is not yet clear whether Littler had always planned to skip that Euro Tour event, or whether the decision relates to his comments after the hostile Dutch reception.
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The debate over fan behaviour in darts will not fade quickly. Bunting does not see the problem solving itself and believes the sport may need to go a step further to better protect players during their throws.
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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.
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- 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