Darts results: Stephen Bunting wins his maiden PDC major trophy by beating Michael van Gerwen in the Masters final

The Bullet has become an extremely popular 'People's Champion' in recent times thanks largely to his viral social media videos, while a string of superb performances in the second half of 2023 saw him talked up as a genuine contender for glory on the biggest stages.

Bunting, who won the BDO World Championship back in 2014 before being famously hyped by Raymond van Barneveld on the Ally Pally stage later that same year following a memorable match, reached his first televised PDC final since the 2014 Sydney Darts Masters by defeating Ross Smith (6-5), Luke Humphries (10-7), Peter Wright (10-2) and Nathan Aspinall (11-1) before coming up against the five-time winner of the event.

The St Helens ace failed to produce his best during their one-sided World Championship duel back in December but on this occasion Bunting got his nose in front early to lead 5-3 and although MVG fought back to level at 6-6, he held his nerve to run out a 11-7 champion with an average of 102 compared to the Dutchman's 98.27.

He also hit eight of the 12 maximums in the match and pinned 55% of his doubles as MVG spurned 13 of his 20 attempts.

The Marshall Arena crowd erupted when Bunting landed the winning double while there was a classy moment during the trophy presentation when van Gerwen went back on stage to congratulate the Bullet's son Toby, who was just two years old when his dad triumphed on the Lakeside stage in 2014.

“I’m lost for words,” admitted an emotional Bunting, who had only won four of his previous 26 meetings against the three-time World Champion.

“To do it front of a crowd that were chanting my name from the minute I stepped foot in Milton Keynes means so much to me. I’m really happy. This just shows my hard work is paying off, and it’s a great start to the season. Hopefully I can push on from this.

“My main aim when I moved over from the BDO was to win big titles, but you’re playing the best of the best, and you’re going to be pushed all the way.

“Michael is a multiple World Champion. He’s a fantastic player. I’ve beaten Luke Humphries this weekend, and I’ve beaten Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall - all Premier League players.

“That is where I want to get my game back to so let’s see what happens in the future, but I really think I deserve this trophy.”

Van Gerwen had only dropped 10 legs in reaching Sunday’s finale, having kicked off his campaign with a 10-4 victory against defending champion Chris Dobey.

The Dutch superstar overcame two-time runner-up Dave Chisnall by the same scoreline in the quarter-finals, averaging 102 while he recorded an 11-2 thumping of Dimitri Van den Bergh in the last four.

“Fair play to Stephen, he played really well throughout the tournament,” claimed a gracious Van Gerwen, who walked away with the £30,000 runner-up prize.

“I think just before the last break, I was playing a little bit better than him, but I couldn’t make the difference.

“He kept producing the 140s and he put me under a lot of pressure. He has worked really hard for this, and it’s a nice moment for him.

“There is lots more to come from me, but I am not in form yet. I’m still struggling here and there.

“I know I can do a lot better, but I want to give Stephen the credit because he had a really good tournament.”

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Masters: Tournament results

FINAL

• Stephen Bunting 11-7 Michael van Gerwen

SEMI-FINALS

• Stephen Bunting 11-1 Nathan Aspinall
• Michael van Gerwen 11-2 Dimitri Van den Bergh

QUARTER-FINALS

• Stephen Bunting 10-2 Peter Wright (8)
• (4) Nathan Aspinall 10-9 Daryl Gurney
• (2) Michael van Gerwen 10-4 Dave Chisnall
• Dimitri Van den Bergh 10-7 Damon Heta

ROUND TWO

• (1) Luke Humphries 7-10 Stephen Bunting
• (8) Peter Wright 10-8 Krzysztof Ratajski
• (4) Nathan Aspinall 10-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
• Daryl Gurney* 10-8 Joe Cullen
• (2) Michael van Gerwen 10-4 Chris Dobey
• (7) Danny Noppert 8-10 Dave Chisnall
• (3) Michael Smith 6-10 Dimitri Van den Bergh
• (6) Rob Cross 8-10 Damon Heta

* Daryl Gurney replaces Gerwyn Price, who withdrew for personal reasons

ROUND ONE

• (16) Stephen Bunting 6-5 (17) Ross Smith
• (9) Jonny Clayton 3-6 (24) Krzysztof Ratajski
• (13) Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 (20) Ryan Searle
• (12) Joe Cullen 6-4 (21) Josh Rock
• (15) Chris Dobey 6-3 (18) Andrew Gilding
• (10) Dave Chisnall 6-1 (23) Martin Schindler
• (14) Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-1 (19) James Wade
• (11) Damon Heta 6-2 (22) Gabriel Clemens

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