Luke Littler is relishing the opportunity to take on Stephen Bunting and his ‘Bunting Army’ in their semi-final showdown at Alexandra Palace on Thursday.
Littler continued his quest for a maiden World Darts Championship title with a convincing 5-2 victory over Nathan Aspinall, after seeing Bunting knock out Peter Wright by the same margin.
Both players receive huge support from the Ally Pally crowd, with Bunting’s track “Titanium” and Littler’s track “Greenlight” generating huge noise before each match, with the pre-tournament favorite fully aware that not all the public will support his candidacy. to reach a second world final.
“Ils [the crowd] were good to me tonight, “Littler told Sky Sports after beating Aspinall. “They have been good to Stephen as well.
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Laughter everywhere as Littler and Aspinall joke after missing nine darts in their quarter-final
“They can make their choice and support whoever they want. I can see quite a few Nuke shirts here, so I think I’m in the best position!
With Luke Humphries suffering a surprise early exit, Littler now enters the semi-final as the hot favorite – Michael van Gerwen faces Chris Dobey in the other semi-final – but he knows anything can happen on the Ally Pally stage.
But the 17-year-old is feeling his best throughout the tournament and will hope to repeat that on Thursday night to book his place in the final again.
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Littler says he plays with absolute confidence and freedom
“That’s probably what everyone is thinking, but anything can happen on this day, it’s the semi-finals of the World Championship,” Littler said.
“Obviously Michael’s been there a few times, Chris is on his first, I’m on my second and I know Bunting, I think, is on his first or second, so it’s going to be a good night .
“I’ve felt the best I can in this tournament so far, so hopefully I can regroup and come back and maybe it’ll be the same feeling.
“We all know the expectations and it’s a lot different than last year, but tonight I felt the best I could and hopefully I can regroup and feel like I did on that stage tomorrow (Thursday ).
“I would probably only say that I felt different in the match against Ryan Meikle, then I did well against Ian White, obviously the 3-1 lead was crucial against Ian, and then the tough test against Ryan, I think that This is what I needed, and then tonight I settled down.
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Stephen Bunting praises training partner Luke Humphries for improved form to reach semi-finals following victory over Peter Wright
Bunting demands more from Ally Pally crowd
Although Littler is ready for his opponent to have the fans on his side when they face off in the semi-final, Bunting himself faced growing support from Wright as he fought back in the quarter-final .
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Watch Bunting’s son cheer his father on to a quarter-final victory over Wright
At the end of his match, Bunting congratulated the crowd but asked for more.
“Listen [to the crowd] in the first four sets you were unreal but you have to do better,” Bunting told Aerial sports.
“I said to myself: try to refocus. In every match, I focused on this opponent. The crowd, still incredible.
“Let’s go, Mental Bunting!” »
What’s next?
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen will headline Thursday’s opener against Dobey, who is looking to reach the final for the first time, before pre-tournament favorite Littler takes on Bunting in the another semi-final.
The World Darts Championship kicks off a big 2025 of live darts on Sky Sports, including the Premier League, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts.
Littler is the reigning Premier League champion after beating world number 1 Humphries in last year’s final – but will he go into this year’s events as a world champion?
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch the semi-finals and final exclusively live on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and many other top sports with NOW.
