Stephen Bunting wins first Players Championship title since 2021 with relentless Event 18 final win over Wattimena
PDCWednesday, 18 June 2025 at 20:07
Since he last won a Players Championship title, Stephen Bunting has returned to the Premier League, won a major, World Series and European Tour titles. But four years after the last, he is back winning on the ProTour.
Bunting saw off Jermaine Wattimena who himself had not reached a final since 2020 on the ProTour. He saw off Dave Chisnall, Karel Sedlacek, Alan Soutar, Ritchie Edhouse among others in a tough route through.
Bunting missed three darts at double and Wattimena found double four for an opening break. Bunting missed two darts to level but Wattimena was left frustrated as he couldn't hold and The Bullet broke back for 1-1.
Bunting hit the bull for a sumptuous 164 to hold and make it 2-1. A 12-dart leg 81 checkout saw Bunting go 3-1 up.
Bunting hit a superb 156 checkout on double 18 for 5-1 as he continued to rock and roll. Bunting hit 64 on double four to go 6-1 up. Bunting missed double 11 for 124 and Wattimena got the chance to stop the rot which he took on double eight.
Six straight legs snapped as Bunting though was throwing for 7-2. Wattimena made it two on the trot making it 6-3. Wattimena missed 117 for 6-4 and Bunting finally went one away at 7-3 and was throwing for the title.
Wattimena broke again at 7-4. Bunting missed two match darts, Wattimena hit double 10 and Bunting had to serve it out.
He hit a 94 checkout to finally seal it and claim the 18th Players Championship event of the season. The final event of the triple header continues tomorrow in the East Midlands city. So far Bunting and Dobey have won titles, who claims the title to end the run tomorow?
| Player 1 | Average | Score | VS | Score | Average | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals | ||||||
| Stephen Bunting | (104.84) | 8 | VS | 5 | (99.65) | Jermaine Wattimena |
| Semi-Finals | ||||||
| Stephen Bunting | (97.54) | 7 | VS | 6 | (100.52) | Dave Chisnall |
| Jermaine Wattimena | (99.49) | 7 | VS | 6 | (90.23) | Niels Zonneveld |
| Quarter-Finals | ||||||
| Dave Chisnall | (93.08) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.30) | Cam Crabtree |
| Stephen Bunting | (102.51) | 6 | VS | 5 | (94.69) | Karel Sedlacek |
| Niels Zonneveld | (88.33) | 6 | VS | 5 | (95.44) | Benjamin Reus |
| Jermaine Wattimena | (97.87) | 6 | VS | 5 | (103.42) | Mike De Decker |
| Top 16 | ||||||
| Dave Chisnall | (95.40) | 6 | VS | 2 | (79.36) | Mervyn King |
| Cam Crabtree | (98.22) | 6 | VS | 3 | (96.79) | Callan Rydz |
| Stephen Bunting | (106.43) | 6 | VS | 4 | (94.66) | Alan Soutar |
| Karel Sedlacek | (91.04) | 6 | VS | 2 | (81.60) | Damon Heta |
| Niels Zonneveld | (95.47) | 6 | VS | 1 | (91.53) | James Wade |
| Benjamin Reus | (89.38) | 6 | VS | 4 | (89.21) | Jonny Clayton |
| Mike De Decker | (103.66) | 6 | VS | 0 | (99.70) | Ross Smith |
| Jermaine Wattimena | (91.23) | 6 | VS | 5 | (91.20) | Ryan Searle |
| Top 32 | ||||||
| Dave Chisnall | (100.33) | 6 | VS | 3 | (91.91) | Martin Lukeman |
| Mervyn King | (95.91) | 6 | VS | 5 | (93.84) | Wesley Plaisier |
| Callan Rydz | (95.32) | 6 | VS | 1 | (85.81) | Chris Dobey |
| Cam Crabtree | (92.76) | 6 | VS | 2 | (88.23) | James Hurrell |
| Stephen Bunting | (102.30) | 6 | VS | 3 | (77.43) | Ritchie Edhouse |
| Alan Soutar | (90.90) | 6 | VS | 3 | (94.60) | Dimitri Van den Bergh |
| Damon Heta | (89.36) | 6 | VS | 3 | (92.37) | Ricardo Pietreczko |
| Karel Sedlacek | (94.93) | 6 | VS | 0 | (90.87) | Daryl Gurney |
| Niels Zonneveld | (94.26) | 6 | VS | 5 | (94.75) | Martin Schindler |
| James Wade | (97.57) | 6 | VS | 4 | (89.69) | Ryan Meikle |
| Jonny Clayton | (94.38) | 6 | VS | 2 | (90.02) | Jitse Van der Wal |
| Benjamin Reus | (89.69) | 6 | VS | 4 | (93.58) | Gian van Veen |
| Ross Smith | (96.97) | 6 | VS | 4 | (93.68) | Krzysztof Ratajski |
| Mike De Decker | (102.41) | 6 | VS | 1 | (94.59) | Danny Noppert |
| Jermaine Wattimena | (99.36) | 6 | VS | 5 | (102.59) | Josh Rock |
| Ryan Searle | (108.97) | 6 | VS | 1 | (83.84) | Martijn Dragt |
| Top 64 | ||||||
| Martin Lukeman | (95.12) | 6 | VS | 3 | (90.48) | Kevin Doets |
| Dave Chisnall | (100.37) | 6 | VS | 2 | (86.84) | Brett Claydon |
| Wesley Plaisier | (97.77) | 6 | VS | 4 | (94.56) | Thibault Tricole |
| Mervyn King | (83.90) | 6 | VS | 3 | (84.33) | Justin Hood |
| Callan Rydz | (100.50) | 6 | VS | 3 | (96.69) | Kim Huybrechts |
| Chris Dobey | (87.12) | 6 | VS | 3 | (81.45) | Ted Evetts |
| James Hurrell | (95.10) | 6 | VS | 5 | (93.00) | Michael Smith |
| Cam Crabtree | (91.29) | 6 | VS | 5 | (97.91) | Jose De Sousa |
| Ritchie Edhouse | (91.95) | 6 | VS | 4 | (89.80) | Robert Grundy |
| Stephen Bunting | (101.56) | 6 | VS | 3 | (93.70) | Ian White |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh | (97.73) | 6 | VS | 3 | (99.34) | Andrew Gilding |
| Alan Soutar | (93.92) | 6 | VS | 4 | (85.72) | Adam Hunt |
| Ricardo Pietreczko | (93.70) | 6 | VS | 5 | (91.48) | Adam Lipscombe |
| Damon Heta | (87.65) | 6 | VS | 3 | (88.15) | Keane Barry |
| Daryl Gurney | (95.76) | 6 | VS | 3 | (93.18) | Stephen Burton |
| Karel Sedlacek | (102.97) | 6 | VS | 1 | (92.07) | Viktor Tingstrom |
| Niels Zonneveld | (93.63) | 6 | VS | 5 | (92.13) | Ricky Evans |
| Martin Schindler | (105.61) | 6 | VS | 3 | (101.85) | Mensur Suljovic |
| James Wade | (91.27) | 6 | VS | 3 | (90.63) | Madars Razma |
| Ryan Meikle | (89.21) | 6 | VS | 4 | (86.35) | Niko Springer |
| Jitse Van der Wal | (91.90) | 6 | VS | 2 | (86.93) | Joe Cullen |
| Jonny Clayton | (92.69) | 6 | VS | 5 | (91.52) | Mickey Mansell |
| Benjamin Reus | (78.83) | 6 | VS | 5 | (82.09) | Darren Beveridge |
| Gian van Veen | (99.98) | 6 | VS | 2 | (89.04) | Gabriel Clemens |
| Krzysztof Ratajski | (96.39) | 6 | VS | 4 | (84.53) | Adam Warner |
| Ross Smith | (92.11) | 6 | VS | 4 | (91.53) | Max Hopp |
| Danny Noppert | (98.69) | 6 | VS | 4 | (90.04) | Owen Bates |
| Mike De Decker | (106.08) | 6 | VS | 3 | (96.36) | Rhys Griffin |
| Jermaine Wattimena | (94.98) | 6 | VS | 3 | (91.74) | Carl Sneyd |
| Josh Rock | (101.11) | 6 | VS | 1 | (88.82) | Marvin van Velzen |
| Martijn Dragt | (95.86) | 6 | VS | 4 | (89.43) | Raymond van Barneveld |
| Ryan Searle | (94.87) | 6 | VS | 5 | (91.37) | Nathan Rafferty |
| Top 128 | ||||||
| Martin Lukeman | (94.16) | 6 | VS | 5 | (97.82) | Matthew Dennant |
| Kevin Doets | (93.33) | 6 | VS | 4 | (86.94) | Chris Landman |
| Dave Chisnall | (89.82) | 6 | VS | 3 | (83.92) | Christian Kist |
| Brett Claydon | (86.40) | 6 | VS | 3 | (85.84) | George Killington |
| Thibault Tricole | (93.71) | 6 | VS | 4 | (90.34) | Peter Wright |
| Wesley Plaisier | (94.10) | 6 | VS | 4 | (95.58) | Maik Kuivenhoven |
| Mervyn King | (99.80) | 6 | VS | 2 | (96.46) | Gerwyn Price |
| Justin Hood | (93.85) | 6 | VS | 4 | (92.62) | Connor Scutt |
| Callan Rydz | (103.16) | 6 | VS | 1 | (89.14) | Ryan Joyce |
| Kim Huybrechts | (90.46) | 6 | VS | 4 | (83.30) | Jeffrey De Graaf |
| Chris Dobey | (93.09) | 6 | VS | 3 | (92.29) | Haupai Puha |
| Ted Evetts | (87.53) | 6 | VS | 4 | (86.16) | Danny Lauby |
| Michael Smith | (93.70) | 6 | VS | 1 | (87.67) | Berry van Peer |
| James Hurrell | (94.56) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.91) | Thomas Lovely |
| Jose De Sousa | (95.15) | 6 | VS | 5 | (92.26) | Cameron Menzies |
| Cam Crabtree | (85.49) | 6 | VS | 2 | (78.18) | Stefaan Henderyck |
| Ritchie Edhouse | (86.42) | 6 | VS | 3 | (89.50) | Bradley Brooks |
| Robert Grundy | (88.94) | 6 | VS | 4 | (86.36) | Rusty-Jake Rodriguez |
| Stephen Bunting | (104.63) | 6 | VS | 2 | (92.48) | William Borland |
| Ian White | (90.44) | 6 | VS | 2 | (84.12) | Radek Szaganski |
| Andrew Gilding | (98.02) | 6 | VS | 0 | (83.52) | Dylan Slevin |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh | (88.46) | 6 | VS | 1 | (81.36) | Adam Paxton |
| Adam Hunt | (95.24) | 6 | VS | 5 | (99.70) | Gary Anderson |
| Alan Soutar | (91.11) | 6 | VS | 2 | (84.00) | Andy Boulton |
| Ricardo Pietreczko | (96.52) | 6 | VS | 3 | (91.51) | Matt Campbell |
| Adam Lipscombe | (88.33) | 6 | VS | 3 | (82.60) | Danny van Trijp |
| Damon Heta | (91.40) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.97) | Richard Veenstra |
| Keane Barry | (91.84) | 6 | VS | 4 | (86.53) | Scott Campbell |
| Daryl Gurney | (97.22) | 6 | VS | 3 | (84.23) | Mario Vandenbogaerde |
| Stephen Burton | (95.19) | 6 | VS | 5 | (93.74) | William O'Connor |
| Karel Sedlacek | (96.14) | 6 | VS | 3 | (93.87) | Wessel Nijman |
| Viktor Tingstrom | (90.80) | 6 | VS | 3 | (93.48) | Rob Owen |
| Niels Zonneveld | (89.56) | 6 | VS | 1 | (84.70) | Maximilian Czerwinski |
| Ricky Evans | (99.40) | 6 | VS | 3 | (85.23) | Lukas Wenig |
| Martin Schindler | (85.35) | 6 | VS | 1 | (80.29) | Jim Williams |
| Mensur Suljovic | (91.80) | 6 | VS | 4 | (85.34) | Tytus Kanik |
| James Wade | (103.11) | 6 | VS | 5 | (96.12) | Pero Ljubic |
| Madars Razma | (90.31) | 6 | VS | 4 | (95.84) | Steve Lennon |
| Ryan Meikle | (89.88) | 6 | VS | 4 | (93.02) | Dirk van Duijvenbode |
| Niko Springer | (90.27) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.49) | Tom Bissell |
| Joe Cullen | (96.48) | 6 | VS | 3 | (92.70) | Scott Williams |
| Jitse Van der Wal | (91.57) | 6 | VS | 3 | (90.22) | Jim Long |
| Jonny Clayton | (89.98) | 6 | VS | 3 | (84.58) | Tavis Dudeney |
| Mickey Mansell | (86.70) | 6 | VS | 4 | (88.26) | Dennie Olde Kalter |
| Darren Beveridge | (93.95) | 6 | VS | 5 | (94.20) | Luke Woodhouse |
| Benjamin Reus | (86.05) | 6 | VS | 3 | (83.69) | Florian Hempel |
| Gian van Veen | (89.85) | 6 | VS | 4 | (81.74) | Andy Baetens |
| Gabriel Clemens | (85.33) | 6 | VS | 5 | (87.80) | Kai Gotthardt |
| Krzysztof Ratajski | (94.50) | 6 | VS | 4 | (82.91) | Graham Hall |
| Adam Warner | (101.62) | 6 | VS | 1 | (95.39) | Greg Ritchie |
| Ross Smith | (111.88) | 6 | VS | 3 | (92.70) | Cor Dekker |
| Max Hopp | (95.42) | 6 | VS | 3 | (88.39) | Dominik Gruellich |
| Danny Noppert | (110.68) | 6 | VS | 1 | (101.45) | Jelle Klaasen |
| Owen Bates | (93.89) | 6 | VS | 3 | (80.91) | Oskar Lukasiak |
| Mike De Decker | (87.55) | 6 | VS | 0 | (81.79) | Stefan Bellmont |
| Rhys Griffin | (95.87) | 6 | VS | 5 | (88.08) | Sebastian Bialecki |
| Jermaine Wattimena | (105.30) | 6 | VS | 4 | (94.01) | Darryl Pilgrim |
| Carl Sneyd | (103.02) | 6 | VS | 3 | (98.84) | Dom Taylor |
| Josh Rock | (104.02) | 6 | VS | 3 | (96.99) | Jack Tweddell |
| Marvin van Velzen | (87.12) | 6 | VS | 5 | (83.20) | Joshua Richardson |
| Raymond van Barneveld | (89.40) | 6 | VS | 3 | (90.61) | Nick Kenny |
| Martijn Dragt | (94.09) | 6 | VS | 3 | (86.65) | Brendan Dolan |
| Ryan Searle | (108.65) | 6 | VS | 0 | (84.85) | Darius Labanauskas |
| Nathan Rafferty | (92.70) | 6 | VS | 3 | (87.47) | Leon Weber |
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