Stephen Bunting qualified for the semi-finals PDC World Darts Championships for the second time in his career. “The Bullet” in an impressive edition Peter Wright 5-2 in the quarterfinals on New Year’s Day at the stadium Alexandra Palace and now he will face it Łukasz Małyr in the last 4.
Immediately afterwards, Bunting could barely contain his emotions. “If you had seen me 10-15 minutes ago, I wouldn’t have been able to speak. I just burst into tears. I came into this tournament last year ranked 25th in the world and now I’m ranked fifth in the world to be honest, it’s a pinch me moment.” the 39-year-old Englishman said at the post-match press conference. “But it goes to show that the hard work behind the scenes is paying off and yes, I now have a full day to recover, recover and make sure the best version of me shows up tomorrow.”
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As mentioned before the match, Bunting’s son idolizes Peter Wright and the two-time world champion is his favorite player (apart from his father) on tour. Therefore, when “Snakebite” began to counterattack, going from 4-0 to 4-2, Bunting was well aware of the threat. “I know how good Peter Wright is. There’s a reason he’s my son’s favorite player,” he explains. “That also occurred to me. So I knew I had to put the sword through him, but it was so, so hard to shake off that, honestly, I got emotional about the whole thing.”
In the semi-final, Stephen Bunting faced Luke Littler
After training together before the tournament, Bunting received support from Luke Humphries before the match whose world title reign ended at the hands of Wright in the previous round. “He gave me a hug and said he would love for me to win the title,” Bunting reveals with a smile. “So it means a lot to me that it comes from a player like him.”
In the semi-final, Bunting will take on a difficult task against teenage sensation Luke Littler. “I want to win this title more than anyone in the world,” says Bunting. “Being back in the semi-finals is a huge achievement for me, but I’m here to fight for the title and I can’t wait until tomorrow night, I’ll work hard and make sure I’m ready for that fight!”
