Stephen Bunting answered his doubters in emphatic fashion, winning night four of the Premier League in Belfast with a 6-2 final victory over Gian van Veen. The 40-year-old, who is sixth in the PDC's order of merit, had faced scrutiny after failing to win a game in the first three weeks of this season and taking nine weeks to register a point in his debut campaign last year. Bunting, who has come off social media because of the criticism, told Sky Sports: "I do believe I am one of the best players in the world - I deserve to be in the Premier League. Everyone was writing me off, people saying I should not be in it, but I know how hard I work behind the scenes. These are the nights I play for."
Bunting's path to the title was built on spectacular scoring. He registered his highest Premier League average of 106.63 in a 6-4 quarter-final win over defending champion Luke Humphries, backed it up with another 106 average in a 6-0 semi-final clean sweep against current league leader Jonny Clayton, and then clinched the final 6-2 against Van Veen. Reflecting on his difficult start last year, Bunting said: "Losing seven or eight on the bounce last year really helped me, gave me a lot of experience in this field. When you play in the Premier League, you're playing against the best of the best. This ranks up as one of the best wins of my career." For Van Veen, a debutant this season, it was a third final defeat in four weeks.
The night in Belfast also produced a historic moment as Northern Ireland's Josh Rock, the other debutant in this year's field, hit the first nine-darter of the 2026 Premier League tournament. Players are awarded a set of 18-carat gold darts for achieving the feat. Rock, however, lost his quarter-final 6-2 to Van Veen, marking a fourth successive 6-2 defeat in his debut campaign. The 24-year-old, known as a big scorer, has averaged 92.33 across the four weeks with a checkout percentage of 29.63% (eight from 27). Speaking to Sky Sports, an emotional Rock said: "My body is in overdrive. I'm shaking like a leaf. I've never played in the Premier League, never mind a nine-darter in Belfast. Never mind the loss - throwing a nine-darter in front of the home crowd is a huge achievement. I don't care if I never throw a nine-darter again - this is a dream come true."
Former World Championship semi-finalist Wayne Mardle offered a critical perspective on Rock's form, telling Sky Sports: "I was saying he's got no composure and can't string two darts together, let alone three. He won't know where it has come from. It was incredible, but while it is great for him, he needs and wants to play miles better than that. He needs to start putting performances together. They [four 6-2 defeats in a row] are hidings. He needs to improve. There is so much more to come from Josh Rock and he needs to concentrate on that." Elsewhere, world number one Luke Littler's struggles continued with a 6-3 quarter-final loss to Jonny Clayton, meaning he has won only one game in four weeks.
The full results from Belfast were: Quarter-finals - Luke Littler 3-6 Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting 6-4 Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen 5-6 Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen 6-2 Josh Rock; Semi-finals - Clayton 0-6 Bunting, Price 5-6 Van Veen; Final - Bunting 6-2 Van Veen. The Premier League continues on Thursday, 5 March at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff with quarter-finals: Michael van Gerwen v Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen v Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price v Stephen Bunting, and Luke Littler v Josh Rock. The tournament format sees players earn two points per quarter-final win, an extra point for a semi-final win, and five for winning the night. The top four after 16 league-stage weeks progress to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 23 May.
