Bunting admits son Tobi could be the man to retire him from darts

STEPHEN BUNTING admits son Tobias could one day be the man to RETIRE him from darts.

The world No9 has watched with pride as his lad follows in his footsteps and develops his own game.

Tobi, 14, currently plays on the Junior Darts Corporation circuit and has already shown he can compete to a good standard.

The youngster has also featured alongside his famous dad on Bunting's YouTube channel, with the pair going head-to-head in a number of darts challenges.

Former Masters Champ Bunting reckons facing his son competitively would be a strange experience, although he would love to see him make it to the professional ranks.

He told Oche180: “I think it would be very difficult. It’s always difficult to play one of your best mates on stage, so to play your son in any tournament would be difficult.

“It would be a dream if he makes it to that level. I would have taught him something right.

“But he could be the person who retires me, to be honest! We will have to wait and see.

“He is still only 14. We are a few years off that yet. He loves his darts. I think it would be a dream if he could get on a ProTour.

“I won’t push him in any way. I want him to do what he wants to do. He loves playing golf as well.

“Wherever he wants to go with that, I will support him as much as I can.”

There have been several notable family pairings in darts. Colin and Arron Monk made history in 2010 as the first father and son to compete in the same PDC major when they both played at the UK Open.

Australia’s Raymond Smith and Ky Smith made history by becoming the first father and son to compete in the same PDC World Championship after both qualified for the 2021/22 tournament.

Pre-order BULLETPROOF below, on sale September 10. Go to: https://linktr.ee/BulletproofStephenBunting

Words: Aaron Nijjar