Stephen Bunting Ends Premier League Season in Style With Final Win Over Luke Humphries
Stephen Bunting signed off his Premier League campaign on a brighter note as he overcame good friend and defending champion Luke Humphries 6-3 in Sheffield to claim his second nightly win of the season.
The Bullet put in a year-best performance on the night and was roared on by the Sheffield crowd, who were keen to see big Leeds United supporter Humphries beaten, and they got their wish as Bunting hit seven maximums and a 106.37 average.
In the final leg, Bunting started with six perfect darts. The crowd was ecstatic at the thought of seeing a nine-darter to close the night; however, the Liverpudlian had to settle for a 12-darter after missing the opportunity.
Despite losing in the final, ‘Cool Hand’ Humphries ensured a third-place finish in the season’s standings. This helped him avoid a semi-final against World Champion Luke Littler on finals night at the O2 Arena in London next week.
Humphries will instead take on Welshman Jonny Clayton with fellow Welshman Gerwyn Price facing Littler.
Bunting’s nightly win moves him above Dutch pair Gian Van Veen and Michael van Gerwen. He secures a fifth-place finish, just six points off a play-off place.
“I was probably a bit hard on myself. I’m up to fifth! I’m so happy with that,” Bunting told Sky Sports.
“People wrote me off and said I shouldn’t be in it. I want to stay in this Premier League for years. That was a massive statement from me.”
Bunting won a superb quarter-final 6-3 against Clayton as both players averaged over a ton across the nine legs.
The Bullet came from 2-0 down to beat Price in the semis. He hit a 161 finish on his way to victory, with one of three 100+ finishes.
Even though he lost the final, Humphries put in two impressive showings to get there. He averaged over 105 to knock out Van Gerwen in a last-leg decider in the quarter-finals, and then thrashed Littler in the semis.
The world number two won six legs in a row to take the match 6-1. He secured his place in the final with another 100-plus average.
Premier League Darts night 16 results
Quarter-finals
Jonny Clayton 3-6 Stephen Bunting
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Gian van Veen
Luke Littler 6-5 Josh Rock
Luke Humphries 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Semi-finals
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Luke Littler 1-6 Luke Humphries
Final
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Luke Humphries
Premier League Darts play-offs fixtures
Thursday, 28 May – London O2 Arena
Semi-finals
Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price
Jonny Clayton v Luke Humphries
Final
Littler/Price v Clayton/Humphries
