Luke Humphries has come up with a new theory on why Stephen Bunting is struggling to perform to his best.
Bunting, 39, was selected to be a part of this year's Premier League Darts line-up after producing a series of impressive displays.
The Liverpool-born star reached the semi-finals of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship but was thrashed 6-1 by eventual winner Luke Littler.
Since then, Bunting has struggled to perform at his best as he currently sits bottom of the Premier League table having won zero matches in seven outings.
Speaking to talkSPORT recently, Humphries questioned whether Bunting's popular walk-on song (Titanium by David Guetta ft. Sia) has impacted his darts.
Advert
He said: "I don't know if the walk-on song has affected him a little bit at the start. Nathan (Aspinall) had this problem, he told me that the buzz is so high for the first couple of legs it's hard to come down from.
"Mine is not as big as Stephen's and Nathan's obviously, when you got that massive buzz, for the first two legs, you're kind of waiting to come down a little bit and he (Bunting) hasn't had a great record of winning the first couple of legs."
Humphries continued: "So, I said to him 'When you do your walk-on, do it, and then give yourself 15 or 20 seconds at the table before you go and throw your practice darts. Allow yourself to come down from that adrenaline a little bit'."
Advert
Bunting lost 6-2 to Chris Dobey during night seven in Cardiff, Wales.
Taking to social media, Bunting wrote: "Absolutely gutted. So sorry to all who support me. Practiced so well tonight and unfortunately it just didn’t happen on the stage. I’ll keep giving it my all guys and keep believing.
Advert
"I’m making myself so nervous because I care and want to perform to my best instead of just relaxing and letting it happen. See you all next week. I’ll work hard and make sure I’ll improve."
There are still plenty of opportunities for Bunting to get some points on the board, starting with night eight next week in Newcastle.
Topics: Darts
Marcus Chan