Stephen Bunting believes Northern Ireland's Josh Rock has the ability to become a world champion after the young star hit a nine-darter during the Premier League's Belfast night, which Bunting himself won. Bunting secured his first points of the campaign by defeating Gian Van Veen 6-2 in the final of the fourth night of competition, but shared the spotlight with County Antrim's Rock, who achieved the perfect leg in a quarter-final defeat in front of his home crowd. Rock currently sits bottom of the elite eight-player table without a point.
"Josh is such a fantastic player, I've been practicing with him over the past few weeks, and his time will come," said Bunting at the post-event media conference. "He is one of the best players in the world. People need to get off his back. He was up against the ropes tonight and he pulled out a nine-darter, from nowhere. That shows how good he is. I honestly believe that if he knuckles down and keeps doing what he's doing it'll only be a matter of time before he wins a world championship."
Bunting praised the 24-year-old's all-around game and character, noting his consistent performances have propelled him up the world rankings and earned him a maiden Premier League appearance this season. "His averages, his scoring, his finishing, he's got the whole package, and he's such a young lad as well, so grounded, works really hard, he's got a lovely family," added the former BDO world champion. "He'll definitely not finish this Premier League with no points anyhow, I can guarantee that. He's a fantastic player, he's a great friend of mine, and I wish him nothing but success."
For Bunting, the victory in Belfast marked a significant milestone after it took him nine weeks to score his first points in the 2025 edition. His path to the title included a 6-4 quarter-final win over Luke Humphries, a 6-0 semi-final whitewash of Night Three winner Jonny Clayton, and the 6-2 final triumph over Van Veen. "I took a lot of experience out of last year when it took me a long time to get that first win. I'm happy to have the monkey off my back now," said Bunting. "I felt like I was playing really well. The first two games obviously went the way I wanted them to go and then to just get over the line, it doesn't matter about the performance in the final."
The 40-year-old Liverpudlian also credited the electric atmosphere at Belfast's SSE Arena for inspiring his performance. "What an atmosphere it was from the moment I set foot on stage for my first match through to hitting the winning double in the final, they [the crowd] were right behind me," he said. "This is going to live in my memory for a long time. I can't just go out and play darts without that crowd behind me. It's a special feeling and this is what we live for. I still feel I've quite a few good years ahead of me. I'm still only 40 so let's see where that takes me."
