Stephen Bunting will take on
Michael van Gerwen in the last 16 of the 2024 PDC
World Darts Championship. 'The Bullet' put in another top quality performance at Alexandra Palace, winning 4-0 in sets over
Florian Hempel.
The Englishman had already impressed in his opening match against Ryan Joyce. Thanks to an average of 107, he defeated Joyce 4-0. Against Hempel, Bunting threw above 110+ average for quite some time, but eventually his level tailed off slightly to 101.15.
The start of the match was spectacular from both players. Bunting threw four 180s, and Hempel also managed to throw 3 in the opening few legs. In the end, the first set went 3-2 to Bunting, who managed to produce two 11-darters and a 15-darter.
The former Lakeside champion then opened the second set with a 14-darter and an 11-darter. He eventually pulled out the second set 3-1, allowing Bunting to double the lead. Bunting then took a 2-0 lead in set three, but Hempel fought back to 2-2. However, the fifth leg was a win for Bunting via a 13-darter. 'The Bullet' then took the fourth set 3-1 to put a 4-0 final score on the scoreboard.
So now a meeting with three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen awaits Bunting. They met at the end of November in the quarterfinals of the Players Championship Finals. Bunting was ahead 9-6 in this match, but eventually lost to the Dutchman by 9-10.
