Premier League Darts Table: Stephen Bunting silences doubters with Night Four win in Belfast
Stephen Bunting, sixth in the PDC's order of merit, delivered a statement night to top the Premier League Darts Table after winning Night Four in Belfast, beating World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen 6-2 in the final. The result matters because it represented Bunting's first Premier League nightly win in 20 attempts and answered mounting public criticism about his place in the competition.
Stephen Bunting climbs the Premier League Darts Table with a dominant run
The 40-year-old recorded an emphatic sequence across the knockout rounds: a 6-4 quarter-final victory over defending champion and World No 2 Luke Humphries, where Bunting posted his highest Premier League average of 106. 63; a 6-0 semi-final clean sweep of current league leader Jonny Clayton with another 106 average; and a 6-2 triumph over Gian van Veen in the final. That sequence handed van Veen his third final defeat of the season and gave Bunting his first night victory in the event after a difficult start to the campaign.
Bunting answers the doubters and explains the context
Spectators had questioned Bunting's place after he failed to win a game in the first three weeks of the tournament. He had also endured a tough previous year, taking nine weeks to register a point in last year's event — his first involvement in the Premier League since being a challenger in 2020. Bunting stepped away from social media amid the criticism, and after Belfast he made clear he believes he deserves to be in the Premier League. He described the win as one of the best of his career, saying the result ranks highly for him and that he was emotional but managed to hold himself together after his opening match of the night. He also referenced juggling family life as the only player at the moment with a one-year-old child.
Gian van Veen and other contenders on the night
Gian van Veen, playing in the Premier League for the first time, has reached three finals in four weeks but has yet to convert those opportunities into a nightly title, struggling to get over the line in finals. World number one Luke Littler suffered further frustration, losing 6-3 to Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals and now having won only one game in four weeks.
Josh Rock, nine-darter and debut campaign details
Northern Ireland debutant Josh Rock thrilled the Belfast crowd by hitting the first nine-darter of this year's tournament, an achievement that carries the award of a set of 18-carat gold darts. Rock lost 6-2 to van Veen in the quarter-finals, a result that marked a fourth successive 6-2 defeat in his debut Premier League campaign. The 24-year-old — noted in coverage as one of the biggest scorers on the tour — has averaged 92. 33 across the four weeks and recorded a checkout percentage of 29. 63% (eight from 27). Despite the run of 6-2 defeats, Rock described the emotional intensity of the night, saying his body was in overdrive and he was shaking like a leaf after the nine-darter, a memory he will never forget.
What this means for the standings and what to watch next
Bunting's Belfast victory will alter positions on the Premier League Darts Table and shifts momentum in his favour after a slow start. Van Veen's repeated finals appearances underline his immediate impact in the event despite the lack of a night win so far. Littler's single win in four weeks raises questions about his form in the early phase of the tournament, while Rock's scoring and checkout figures highlight the adjustment challenges of a Premier League debut despite his historic nine-darter.
Details on fixtures, results and the evolving Premier League Darts Table remain subject to updates as the season continues.
