A focused Stephen Bunting admits Thursday night’s Premier League Darts in Liverpool will be emotional after a decade of waiting, but says, “I want to win, not cry.”
The 40-year-old, who was last a permanent fixture of a Premier League Darts campaign in 2015, says his heavy defeat to Phil Taylor on that occasion, in addition to his emotions earlier this season, have taught him a lot ahead of a “dream” return.
“I’m really excited, probably 10 years in the making. When Phil Taylor beat me here all those years ago, I always dreamt of coming back,” Bunting told media on Wednesday.
“I played a challenger game [vs Rob Cross in 2020], but I wanted to be part of the Premier League proper again. It’s been a lot of hard work, but I’m back here and I’m really looking forward to it.
“As soon as the Premier League was announced, and I was in, I was then looking for the fixture straight away for Liverpool. That was the massive one.
“From my experience 10 years ago, I took a lot away from that.
“Playing Phil Taylor on the biggest stage in my career at the time in Liverpool was a massive game for me, and I definitely put too much pressure on myself. I remember the night being so nervous and the result didn’t go my way. In fact, I got absolutely hammered. I’ve learnt a lot.
“The first eight weeks of the Premier League taught me you can’t be complacent. You can’t miss doubles. There’s no wriggle room, so I need to be on the best of my game regardless of where I play and just try and keep the emotions in check.
“The first four weeks of the Premier League, you could see how emotional I was on the walk-on.
“10 years ago, playing in the Premier League, I was coming on to Bird is the Word. It wasn’t a song that really meant anything to me. Now I’m coming on to Titanium, with nothing to lose, bulletproof, all the taglines. It’s my son’s favourite song. It’s a lot more of an emotional song attached with me, and that’s why you see the emotion.”
