BUNTING HITS BACK AT DOUBTERS WITH SHEFFIELD WIN

STEPHEN BUNTING hit back at the spectators who wrote him off by winning Night 16 of the Premier League in Sheffield.

The Bullet climbed to fifth in the table and pocketed the £10,000 top prize after securing his second nightly win of the season with a 6-3 victory over Luke Humphries.  

World No10 Bunting averaged 102.22 as he produced an impressive display to beat Jonny Clayton 6-3 in their opener.  

The St Helens thrower rattled off four consecutive legs and sealed a 6-3 victory over Gerwyn Price with a superb 104 checkout in the semi-final.  

Prior to this campaign, Bunting had finished bottom of the table in both his previous appearances in 2015 and 2025, leading some fans to question his inclusion in this season’s line-up. 

He said: “I felt great all night. This crowd is unbelievable, thank you very much. I have really enjoyed myself a lot more than last year.  

“I just have a lot more confidence and belief. I am going into Riesa now on top of the world. I played some fantastic darts and I am so proud of myself.  

“I was a bit hard on myself. I feel like I played a great tournament. I am up to fifth. I am so happy with that.  

“People wrote me off and said I shouldn’t be in it and I finished fifth. Two nightly wins — I am so proud of myself.  

“I dug deep tonight. There was a bit of pressure off and it didn’t matter what happened.  

“But I wanted to make a statement and put it out there — I want to be in the Premier League for years to come.  

“The only thing that has kept me out of the top four is my finishing. I am much better than that.  

“I go home and I beat myself some nights even if I average 105 and lose. Me and Josh Rock have butted heads and said lets go out with a bang.  

“It is our leaving party.”  

Humphries averaged a stellar 105.24 and survived a match dart to overcome Michael van Gerwen 6-5 in the quarter-final.   

The Cheshire thrower then averaged 100.02 in a dominant 6-1 demolition of Luke Littler to secure a third-place finish and set up a semi-final clash with Clayton on Finals Night next week.  

Littler edged past Josh Rock 6-5 in a tense contest, with Rock punished for missing doubles after landing just five of his 23 attempts at the outer ring.  

Price was clinical on the doubles, landing six of his eight attempts before sealing a 6-2 victory over Gian van Veen with a superb 112 checkout.  

The former world champion finished fourth and will now face league leader Littler in another blockbuster semi-final showdown at London’s O2 Arena.