Luke Littler is relishing the opportunity to take on Stephen Bunting and his ‘Bunting Army’ in the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace on Thursday.
Littler continued his bid for his first World Darts Championship title with a convincing 5–2 win over Nathan Aspinall and saw Bunting dispatch Peter Wright by the same margin.
Both fighters receive huge support from the Ally Pally crowd, with Bunting’s ‘Titanium’ walk-on and Littler’s ‘Greenlight’ track making a ton of noise before each match, and the pre-tournament winner has everyone in the crowd doing their bidding. I know full well that I will not support it. They advance to their second World Finals.
“They (the crowd) were good to me tonight.” Littler told Sky Sports After defeating Aspinall. “They were good to Stephen too.
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Littler and Aspinall, who missed nine darts in the quarter-finals, laugh throughout the joke.
“They can pick and support whoever they want. We have quite a few Nuke shirts here, so I think we can do better!”
With Luke Humphries suffering a shocking early exit, Littler now heads into the semi-finals as the favorite to win. 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 entire tournament and will be hoping to replicate that feeling to reach the final once again on Thursday night.
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Littler says he plays with absolute confidence and freedom.
“Maybe everyone thinks that, but anything can happen on the day. It’s the semi-finals of the World Championships,” Littler said.
“Obviously Michael has been there many times, Chris is first, I am second and I know Bunting is first or second, so it’s going to be a fun night.”
“It’s the best feeling I’ve had in this tournament so far and I’m hoping we can get back together and feel the same way.
“We all know the expectations and it’s very different from last year, but tonight was the best feeling we’ve ever had and hopefully we can regroup and feel like we did on that stage tomorrow (Thursday).
“I would say it probably felt different in the Ryan Meikle game and then against Ian White. Obviously the 3-1 lead against Ian was decisive and I think a tough test against Ryan was what I needed. And tonight I just agreed. i did it.”
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Stephen Bunting credits training partner Luke Humphries with beating Peter Wright to reach the semi-finals.
Bunting demands more from the Ally Pally crowd.
Littler will be ready to get the fans onside when their opponents meet in the semi-finals, but Bunting himself dealt with the growing support for Wright as he bounced back in the semi-finals.
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Watch Bunting’s son cheer his father on to a quarter-final win over Wright.
After the match Bunting praised the crowd but demanded more.
“In the first four sets (the crowd said) it was unreal, but we have to do better,” Bunting said. sky sports.
“I just thought about trying and refocusing. Every game I focused on that opponent. The crowd was unbelievable again.
“Let’s go mental bunting!”
What’s next?
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen headlined the first match of Thursday’s action as he faced Dobey, who is seeking to reach the final for the first time, while pre-tournament favorite Littler faced Bunting in the other semi-final.
The World Darts Championship marks the start of a huge 2025 edition of live darts on Sky Sports, including the Premier League, World Match Play, World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts.
Littler became the defending champion of the Premier League after beating world number one Humphries in last year’s final. But will he enter this year’s competition as a world champion?
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch the semi-finals and final live exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and other top sports with NOW.
