BUNTING CLOSE TO TEARS AFTER MASTERS GLORY
05/02/2024 By Phil Lanning
STEPHEN BUNTING was close to tears after ending a 10-year wait to finally win his first PDC TV title at the Masters.
The St.Helens ace produced one of his finest performances to dump Dutch star Michael van Gerwen 11-7 in Milton Keynes on Sunday night.
‘The Bullet’, 38, won on TV for the first since winning the BDO world title in 2014 and had to console his young son Toby who was in tears on stage.
Picking up the £65,000, he said: “I promised that I wouldn’t cry if I won. It means a lot to me. I’ve been in the PDC for a lot of years now.
“The practice is paying off. I’m lost for words. If Carlsberg did events this would be it.
“I’m really happy my form is really good and hopefully I can push on from here.
“Winning trophies was the main aim obviously after moving over from the BDO.
“But when you come here you are playing the best of the best. These boys will push you all the way.
“Michael van Gerwen is a multiple world champion and a fantastic dart player. But I really deserved this trophy.”
Bunting dominated the final with a high class 102.7 average to take glory. He managed to break Van Gerwen early in the contest to lead 6-3 but the Dutchman came roaring back. However the Liverpool fan had too much power in the end.
Van Gerwen, who picked up £30,000, added: “Stephen is the form guy. I thought I was playing a bit better but I couldn’t make the difference.
“He put me under a lot of pressure. Fair play to him he played really well through the whole tournament.”
Images by Taylor Lanning.
