Stephen Bunting on Luke Littler boos, his Liverpool homecoming and Arne Slot
Stephen Bunting is expecting an emotional night in front of his home Liverpool fans on Thursday as he continues to battle for a playoff spotyou can watch Premier League Darts live on Sky Sports every Thursday
Wednesday 22 April 2026 21:58, UK
Stephen Bunting can expect nothing but love when he takes to the stage in front of his home Liverpool crowd on Thursday night. Others? Perhaps less so.
Back-to-back world champion Luke Littler has been subject to boos in recent weeks in the wake of his falling out with Gian van Veen in Manchester.
And regardless of his incident with the Dutchman, animosity on Merseyside might have already been on the agenda for the Manchester United fan, who has not shied from pointing to Liverpool's struggles this season on social media.
Bunting, though, admits there is little that can be done to control crowd reaction.
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"It's not for me to say, to be honest," said Bunting of boos from the crowd. "I'm in a position where the crowd seem to react in a positive manner towards me. I try to do everything right on the oche when I can.
"There's been one occasion after the World's where I probably said or used a word that I probably shouldn't have used and I got a bit of stick for it, which I think was a bit harsh. Fans react the way they want to react, to be honest. We can't do anything.
"A lot of people sit behind the keyboards and write a lot of stuff and it's out of our control, to be honest. And people in the venue, if they're there and they're going to boo, then that's entirely down to them.
"But as long as I keep being clean and keep doing my own thing and keep out of everyone else's business and try not to cause trouble, then hopefully I don't give anyone a reason to boo me."
Bunting is among those privy to feeding off the crowd atmosphere, and is anticipating a special moment when he takes on Premier League leader Jonny Clayton in his quarter-final.
"It's always emotional when you're in front of your home fans, I will have that," he said. "Extra couple of seconds on my walk on and take a deep breath and stuff.
"Hopefully I don't get too emotional. I'm really looking forward to it.
"I've done some emotional stuff today. I've been to Alder Hey Children's Hospital. I'm sure I'll be absolutely fine. If I win, I probably will have a little cry. But let's try and do that first."
Bunting himself has also been on the other side of darting homecomings, from Gerwyn Price's warm welcome in Wales to Michael van Gerwen's Dutch reception.
"It can be very difficult," he said. "Last year I played Michael van Gerwen in Rotterdam. I was able to overcome that scenario and got the win.
"I played Gezi a few weeks ago, and obviously he had all the Welsh crowd supporting him. So you expect it. You get your pockets of fans wherever you go.
"And obviously Liverpool, it's going to be great for me. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope it affects my opponents, to be honest, because that might give me an easy night, but I don't expect that to happen. I think the crowd's going to be very respectful, no matter who's playing.
"Hopefully we can all play our best darts, hopefully it's one of the best Premier League nights tomorrow. And the people of Liverpool can go home and talk about that night for a long time."
Elsewhere in Liverpool, Littler - who sits second behind Clayton - begins his night against former world champion Luke Humphries, while Van Veen faces Price and Van Gerwen meets Josh Rock.
Bunting arrives seventh and five points behind fourth-placed Van Gerwen, who currently occupies the final playoff place.
A toiling Premier League campaign has in some ways been mirrored by his beloved Liverpool, who are battling to secure a Champions League spot amid criticism of Arne Slot's reigning champions.
"The season's been up and down to say the least, hasn't it?" said Bunting. "All these signings come in, they just don't seem to have gelled together.
"I know there's been a lot of injuries. I was a big Arne Slot fan last year, obviously won the league and stuff, but it's changed. My opinion has changed a bit this year.
"It's boring to watch. I'm good friends with quite a few of the boxers and Paddy the Baddy, we always speak about the football and stuff. We're in a group together. I think we're not happy, but if he stays then we'll fully support him. Let's just see what happens."
Who will win this year's Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will be defending his title and you can watch the action every single Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
