Sublime Stephen Bunting gets the better of Luke Littler to reach Dutch Darts Masters 2025 final

Stephen Bunting is the first man through to the final at the 2025 Dutch Darts Masters in Den Bosch. The Bullet has seen off Luke Littler in a thriller 7-6 to keep his hopes alive for back to back World Series titles.

After seeing off his PDC World Darts Championship final opponent Michael van Gerwen in the last quarterfinals, Littler had the man he beat in the semi-finals at the Ally Pally as his next hurdle. 'The Nuke' started the stronger of the two, reeling off the opening couple of legs with back to back 11 darters. A few years ago, that might have signalled the end for Bunting, but Stephen Bunting 2.0 as he calls himself nowadays is made of much sterner stuff and came roaring back into the contest, levelling things up at 3-3 as the players headed off stage for the first break.

After the break, Littler again attempted to quickly assert his authority over the recently crowned Bahrain Darts Masters champion, breaking the Bunting throw to nudge back ahead 4-3. Again though, Bunting refused to lie down and with a 14-darter, broke straight back to level things up once more.

After Littler missed the bull for a 170 in the next leg, Bunting kept his cool to find double 8 and get into the lead for the first time in the match at 5-4. As the players then traded solid holds of throw over the next two legs, the tension levels began to rise with Bunting just one away at 6-5. Finishing a 14-darter on tops, Littler forced a deciding leg, but it was Bunting who had the advantage of throw. Finishing things off with an 11-darter, Bunting gave Littler little chance, booking his place in the a World Series of Darts final for the second tournament running.

In the final a little later tonight, either Rob Cross of Gerwyn Price awaits for The Bullet.