“The standard is just so high these days" - Stephen Bunting enjoys mixed results at latest Players Championship block

Stephen Bunting has been one of the form men in the world of darts so far in 2024, lifting his first PDC major title earlier this year at the Masters and rising back up into the world's top 16 after the former Premier League Darts star had slumped slightly over recent years.

This week, there were a trifecta of Players Championship tournaments on the calendar for Bunting as the rest of the Pro Tour's elite in Milton Keynes. Things didn't start too well for the former Lakeside champion however, as despite averaging over 100 against Keane Barry at Players Championship 15, it was the Irishman who prevailed, consigning Bunting to an early exit.

The next two days saw much deeper runs however, as Bunting reached the last 16 of Players Championship 16 and 17 before being defeated by the experienced Brendan Dolan and one of the stars of the 2024 Pro Tour, Ryan Searle on the respective days.

“Overall, I was very happy to pick myself up after day one to produce two good runs," the Englishman reflected afterwards in quotes collected by stephenbunting180.com. “The match against Keane [Barry] on the first afternoon could have gone either way and then who knows what might have happened. But I have to take heart and a lot of positives from bouncing back and coming close to consecutive quarter-finals."

Although Pro Tour glory didn't quite come for Bunting this week, he nevertheless leaves Milton Keynes with a positive mindset ahead of the busiest time of the year, where majors come thick and fast. “The standard is just so high these days and to win my board is always my first objective. As Meatloaf famously once said, two out of three ain’t bad,” Bunting concludes.