Stephen Bunting wants to show Manchester United fans 'what a world champions’ trophy looks like' in sealing Ally Pally glory

Stephen Bunting not only has his PDC World Darts Championship dream upon him but he wants to show Manchester United fans what a trophy looks like if he seals Ally Pally glory.

Bunting heads into the third round where he faces off against Madars Razma with the hope of concluding his emphatic return to the darting elite.

He walked around the pitch when he won Lakeside and hopes to do the same again with Caoimhin Kelleher who plays for Liverpool also a big fan.

Read also

Everything about the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship: Schedule, results, TV guide and prize money

“I’d love to do that again. I did that when I won the Lakeside trophy but at that time, I didn’t have a massive fanbase.

“I’m walking around the pitch, no one knew who I was, and they’re all singing: ‘There’s only one Phil Taylor’.

“If I win this title, everyone will know who I am — and I might even get a couple of people cheering for me. That’s a dream that I can only think about so early in the tournament.

“But yeah, that’ll sort of push me through and I’d love to be able to do that.

“I’ll tell you what, to walk on with it against United, that’s a dream come true, isn’t it?

“Can you imagine what a world champions’ trophy looks like? I can imagine what the Man United fans would shout at me, though!

He also spoke about Michael Smith and he is backing him to bounce back from recent disappointment. “I probably won’t go see him but I’ll send him a message. He knows how good he is.

“He probably went home straight after the match. When you lose on that stage, it’s the worst place. And going into Christmas, he’s got a young family as well.

“It’s so difficult to go home then and have a great Christmas when you work so hard to get into worlds — and then it’s over in a blink of an eye.

“So I can totally understand his disappointment and, thankfully, it’s not me going home and having a bad Christmas.

“I totally feel for him. I think my hypnotherapist did reach out to him and his family probably last year.

“I don’t know what happened there but it didn’t happen. I’m really happy with my hypnotist. He’s doing fantastic for me.

“Listen, there’s different things you do. Things like your diet, you look for energy when you’re playing.

“Each player is different, so I wouldn’t like to say to players, ‘this is what you need to do’, but listen, learn off the best.”