Premier League Darts Table: Stephen Bunting beats Gian van Veen in Belfast as Josh Rock hits nine-darter
Stephen Bunting claimed victory on night four in Belfast, beating Gian van Veen 6-2 to silence critics and climb from a slow start in the competition. The premier league darts table now lists a resurgent Bunting after a night that also produced Josh Rock's nine-darter and another early exit for Luke Littler.
Bunting’s turnaround: age, averages and past struggles
The 40-year-old Stephen Bunting, sixth in the PDC's order of merit and a two-time World Championship semi-finalist, went from zero to five points overall with his Belfast run. Bunting had failed to win a game in the first three weeks of this year’s event, a run that followed him taking nine weeks to register a point in last year’s event—his first involvement since being a challenger in 2020. He has come off social media because of the criticism he faced.
On the night he produced his highest Premier League average, a 106. 63 in a 6-4 quarter-final win over defending champion Luke Humphries, before backing that up with another 106 average in a 6-0 semi-final whitewash of current league leader Jonny Clayton. He completed the night with a clinical 6-2 win over Gian van Veen in the final.
Van Veen’s fourth final and debut season pressure
Dutchman Gian van Veen, playing in the tournament for the first time, has reached three finals in four weeks but remains unable to get over the line. Bunting inflicted what was described as a third final defeat of the season on Van Veen when he beat him 6-2 in Belfast, adding to Van Veen's pattern of strong runs that have so far fallen short in finals.
Van Veen had earlier beaten Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock 6-2 in the quarter-finals to set up his place in the final.
Josh Rock’s nine-darter and home-night contrasts
Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock, another debutant in this year’s field, delighted the home crowd by hitting the first nine-darter of this year’s tournament. That nine-darter was the 20th in the history of the Premier League and earns the player a set of 18-carat gold darts awarded for the feat.
Despite that high point, Rock lost 6-2 to Van Veen in the quarters, marking a fourth successive 6-2 defeat in his debut Premier League campaign. Known as one of the biggest scorers on the tour, the 24-year-old has struggled in this tournament, averaging 92. 33 across the four weeks with a checkout percentage of 29. 63% (eight from 27). Still, the home faithful lauded him for the memory of the nine-darter.
Luke Littler’s early exits and the quarter-final line-up
World number one Luke Littler suffered more disappointment when he lost 6-3 to Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals, leaving Littler with only one win in four weeks. The defeat continued a frustrating run for Littler in the early stages of the event.
The quarter-finals also featured Bunting’s 6-4 win over defending champion Luke Humphries, and Rock’s 6-2 defeat to Van Veen, setting the semi-final line-up that led to the eventual final between Bunting and Van Veen.
Schedule, stakes and Bunting’s preparations
The Premier League continues its run on Thursdays through to a finale at The O2 in London on May 28. Players who hit a nine-darter in the Premier League are presented with a set of 18-carat gold darts, underscoring the rarity of Rock’s achievement in Belfast.
Bunting said he had come off social media and had hypnotherapy on the day of the event, reflecting measures he took to manage criticism and pressure. He also referenced last year’s run of losses—"losing seven or eight on the bounce"—as valuable experience when facing the best players in the Premier League and described the Belfast win as one of the best of his career.
