A darts legend appeared to call out the Sky Sports commentary team for their comments about Stephen Bunting during night one of the Premier League Darts.
The 2026 Premier League got underway in Newcastle on Thursday (February 5), with all eight players - Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price - in action.
The night got underway with Clayton defeating Rock 6-2 before Littler fell to a 6-4 defeat against Van Veen, meaning the reigning world champion’s evening ended earlier than expected.
Then, 2025 Premier League winner Humphries came out on top in a close contest against Price, with ‘Coolhand’ winning 6-5 before Van Gerwen wrapped up the quarter-finals by beating Bunting 6-2.
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Van Gerwen also defeated Humphries 6-2 in the semi-finals after Van Veen threw to a 6-4 victory over Clayton to confirm his place in the evening’s final.
'Mighty Mike' reigned supreme over his fellow countryman in the final, coming out a 6-4 winner.
Ahead of the tournament, there had been some debate about whether world number seven Bunting’s 2025 performances had warranted a wild card spot over the likes of James Wade, Nathan Aspinall and Danny Noppert.
The line-up is decided based on world rankings, with the top four gaining entry to the Premier League, while the PDC decide the four wildcards - which in this case were Bunting, Price, Rock, and Clayton.
Bunting’s inclusion was a particularly interesting selection, with several fans offering a negative reaction on social media.
However, in a recent interview with Sky Sports, he explained how his wife and management now take care of his social media after the negative backlash in recent months.
"I still see the odd comment pop through, but the people are very negative, they are not fans, some of them are just idiots really who jump on the bandwagon and say you are not doing well,” Bunting said.
But not everyone is against Bunting, including former 1983 BDO world darts champion Keith Deller, who leapt to the Liverpudlian’s defence on social media during night one of the Premier League after the commentary team reminded fans of the debate about Bunting’s inclusion.
“I hope [Stephen Bunting] @sbunting180 has a really good Premier League,” Deller wrote. “I think too much is said about Stephen’s invite and has already mentioned by the commentator tonight. Remember, he’s no. 7 in the world, and there are 8 players in the event, so why not?”
Night two of the Premier League will take place in Antwerp, Belgium, on February 12.
Topics: Darts, Sky Sports, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen
Luke Davies