Luke Littler reminds Stephen Bunting of biggest Premier League mistake | Other | Sport
Luke Littler believes that Stephen Bunting is making the mistake of “putting too much pressure on himself” during his miserable Premier League Darts stint. The teenager handed Bunting his latest defeat in Newcastle on Thursday, with the Liverpudlian without a victory in 2025.
Half of the campaign has been completed already and Bunting is rooted to the foot of the table without a point. His last victory in the competition came in 2015 and Bunting will equal the record for the longest losing streak if he does not overcome Nathan Aspinall next Thursday in Berlin.
The current record belongs to Peter Wright, who went 13 matches in 2019 and 2020 without a victory. Bunting’s latest defeat came at the hands of world champion Littler in a 6-0 whitewash.
After the match, Littler had some advice for his underperforming rival and cautioned Bunting for pressurising himself at the oche.
“Obviously, Steve’s struggling at the minute,” Littler shared. “Once he gets that first win, I’m sure he’ll win quite a few in the Premier League. I think we’re halfway through now. I think last week he said he’s putting too much pressure on himself.
“Obviously, without a win in eight weeks. If I was Stephen now, I’d say you’ve just got to relax. You’ve just got to say, come on, just win that first game. And I’m sure once he gets that first win and gets that winning feeling, then he’ll go on. Hopefully, I think he could win a night.”
As many as 26 points separate Bunting from Littler at the top of the table, with the 18-year-old winning four out of the eight nights so far.
Bunting has thanked fans for their support, having faced a barrage of abuse for his disappointing performance, in the hope that he can turn his tournament around in Germany next.
When told on social media to “ignore the haters”, Bunting replied: “Thank you. Much appreciated. I stay away from the negative comments as I know they are there. I’m proud to be part of the Premier League. I’m proud of how far I’ve come since the times when I was thinking of quitting and to be on the verge of moving to No. 4 in the world is amazing. I’ll never give up, and I’ll always try 110 per cent to achieve my goals.”
He responded to another similarly supportive message with: “Thanks, mate. Really appreciate you reaching out. I’m good. Feel great and have a great family, team, management and sponsors behind me. And the fans are amazing. I’ll keep giving my all.”
