Following his defeat by Chris Dobey on the seventh night of the Premier League Darts tournament in Cardiff, Stephen Bunting posted an emotional reaction. “The Bullet” lost 6-2 to Chris Dobey, who entered the game having lost his previous five Premier League games, making it seven straight defeats and zero Premier League wins thus far.
Both guys struggled with their scoring throughout the slow encounter. Bunting, who was very wasteful on the outer ring and could only achieve an average of 87.05 on the night, was defeated by Dobey, who only averaged 90.27.
Criticism of Stephen Bunting’s Performance
On the oche, it was just another awful night.
When discussing the match’s quality, Sky Sports host Rod Studd did not mince words: “This is like watching two guys try to push custard up a hill with a fork.” ‘How many more mistakes am I going to make up here?’ [Bunting] will be asking himself. It resembles a bingo card of mistakes.
“There have been positives from some of his defeats, when he knew he played well against good opponents,” added Mark Webster, Studd’s co-commentator. He’ll have a hard time seeing the bright side of this.
The current Premier League Darts results for Stephen Bunting (as of 21/03/25)
At night
The adversary
The score
First Night
Rob Cross
6-4
Second Night
Gerwen, Michael
6-1
Third Night
Luke Humphries
6-4
Night Four
Luke Littler
6-3
Night Five
Aspinall, Nathan
6-2
Night Six
Price, Gerwyn
6-4
Night Seven
Dobey, Chris
6-2
Bunting Responds to His Seventh Straight Loss
The Premier League has been awful thus far.
DOBEY WINS THE OPENER!
Chris Dobey capitalises on 15 missed darts at double from Stephen Bunting, as the boy from Bedlington produces a brilliant 11-dart leg to win 6-2.
📺 https://t.co/CxOorrFXK9 #PLDarts25 pic.twitter.com/FpXc7KigUR
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 20, 2025
In an emotional post on X, Bunting talked about his poor performances and told his fans that he has been feeling pressured to perform and that he is allowing his nervousness to get the best of him.
“Very gutted. I apologise to everyone who has helped me. “It just didn’t happen on the stage tonight, even though I practiced so well,” Bunting said tearfully.
“I’ll continue to believe and give it my all, guys. Because I care and want to give it my all rather than just unwinding and letting it happen, I’m making myself extremely anxious. I’ll see you all next week. I’ll put in a lot of effort and make sure to get better.
Absolutely gutted. So sorry to all who support me. Practiced so well tonight and unfortunately it just didn’t happen on the stage. I’ll keep giving it my all guys and keep believing. I’m making myself so nervous because I care and want to perform to my best instead of just…
— Stephen Bunting (@sbunting180) March 20, 2025
Fans have flooded the Liverpudlian with support on social media, telling him to keep going and that the victories would come. Although he hasn’t been able to translate this form into the Premier League yet, the 39-year-old can find comfort in the fact that he is capable of much more, as demonstrated by his purple patch at the beginning of this year, which included winning the Bahrain Masters and making it to the Dutch Darts Masters final.
Bunting is now five points behind Dobey at the bottom of the Premier League standings and has little chance of making it to the playoffs. Next week, he faces table-topper Luke Littler in his opening game, so things won’t get any easier for him either.
xz
