Stephen Bunting hilariously KICKS out at Luke Littler on stage as he’s left flabbergasted by ridiculous Big Fish finish
STEPHEN BUNTING hilariously kicked out at Luke Littler after losing to the teenager at the World Darts Championship.
Bunting, 39, captivated Ally Pally crowds throughout his run to the semi-finals.
Stephen Bunting hilariously kicked out towards Luke Littler[/caption]
Bunting, 39, was gracious in defeat[/caption]
Wonderkid Littler, 17, proved to be too on the night, however, sweeping Bunting aside 6-1 to book his place in the final.
Ever the showman, “The Nuke” finished the contest with a Big Fish – which consists of two treble 20s followed by a bullseye and is the highest possible checkout.
Bunting took his defeat with typical good grace.
With a big smile on his face, he jokingly kicked out towards Littler, before congratulating his victorious opponent with a warm handshake.
Littler will now prepare for tonight’s final against Michael van Gerwen.
The Dutchman, 35, is a fearsome proposition – having won this tournament three times.
But Littler will not be overawed by the occasion.
After last night’s win, he said: “Everyone else is looking forward to it more than I am, but if I win seven sets I will be happy.
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World Darts Championship – top stories
READ MORE on all the build-up to the Ally Pally extravaganza…
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- All the action as it happens in our LIVE BLOG
- Everything you need to know about the Ally Pally extravaganza
- How much prize money can be won?
- What is the format for the tournament?
- Who are the Sky Sports presenters and pundits?
- How much do players and crowd win for a nine-darter?
- Gerwyn Price’s tattoos
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“Michael has been in numerous finals, this is my second, I know where I went wrong last year and I am sure I will fix it.
“It’s the stuff of dreams, everyone wants to pick up a trophy, but you have to be at the top of your game to do it.
“I have got no pressure, I am going to enjoy it, if I can get off to a quick start I’ll be happy.”
Van Gerwen, meanwhile, referred to his experience advantage over his opponent.
He said: “I have been there before, the smell is not good enough, you want to touch it.
“Luke’s been there, he has had a sniff. I am going to make sure he keeps it as just a sniff as well.
“I was the favourite two years ago and lost.
“Now I’m not favourite, and maybe I’m going to win it. You never know.”
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of Darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once – Barney also won four BDO titles – and none of Eric Bristow’s five BDO titles are included.
- 1994 – Dennis Priestley
- 1995 – Phil Taylor
- 1996 – Phil Taylor (2)
- 1997 – Phil Taylor (3)
- 1998 – Phil Taylor (4)
- 1999 – Phil Taylor (5)
- 2000 – Phil Taylor (6)
- 2001 – Phil Taylor (7)
- 2002 – Phil Taylor (8)
- 2003 – John Part
- 2004 – Phil Taylor (9)
- 2005 – Phil Taylor (10)
- 2006 – Phil Taylor (11)
- 2007 – Raymond van Barneveld
- 2008 – John Part (2)
- 2009 – Phil Taylor (12)
- 2010 – Phil Taylor (13)
- 2011 – Adrian Lewis
- 2012 – Adrian Lewis (2)
- 2013 – Phil Taylor (14)
- 2014 – Michael van Gerwen
- 2015 – Gary Anderson
- 2016 – Gary Anderson (2)
- 2017 – Michael van Gerwen (2)
- 2018 – Rob Cross
- 2019 – Michael van Gerwen (3)
- 2020 – Peter Wright
- 2021 – Gerwyn Price
- 2022 – Peter Wright (2)
- 2023 – Michael Smith
- 2024 – Luke Humphries
Most World Titles
- 14 – Phil Taylor
- 3 – Michael van Gerwen
- 2 – John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
- 1 – Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries
