Stephen Bunting banishes 'demons' after securing European Championship spot with win over Cameron Menzies

STEPHEN BUNTING admits he had finishing-line nerves with his place in Dortmund on the line.

The Bullet secured his spot in next weekend's European Championship with a 6-2 win over Cameron Menzies, and with Nathan Aspinall ending Michael Smith's hopes.

Bunting's victory moved him into the Top 32 position needed to make the showpiece finale in Germany.

The Scouser's ticket is punched now with the win over the Scot subsequently pushing Kim Huybrechts out of the qualifying spots.

Bunting says he has felt the strain of trying to make it as he explained: "There's a lot of demons inside here [head], obviously going to the new darts and people doubting me. But I know what these do on the practice board and I know how good I can be.

"Yeah, the last few weeks I have been nervous, needing to win is a lot more difficult than coming here and expecting to win. But, hopefully, this pushes me onto Dortmund next week."

Bunting confirmed he had been keeping close tabs on all of the matches in Maastricht with the fight for Dortmund places up for grabs and stars scrapping to get the spots.

He continued: "Of course I was. I had seven different darts shirts on yesterday! No, you can never cheer against, they are all your friends and what will be will be. If I didn't get into Dortmund, then it's not about this week, it's about the season as a whole and I'm just glad that I dug deep there."

Bunting took advantage of Menzies missing seven darts to win the third leg and, despite a 150 finish from the Ayrshire ace to stem the tide at one point, the former Lakeside king maintained momentum to seal a 6-2 win.

He said: "I found crucial finishes at the right time. Obviously, Cammy was off and he had a lot of bounce-outs as well, which helped. Happy that I won and onto tomorrow. I need to play better to win."

Image: Jenny Segers/PDC Europe