World Darts Championship: Luke Littler enjoys Ally Pally semi-final against fan favorite Stephen Bunting | News darts
Luke Littler is relishing the opportunity to take on Stephen Bunting and his ‘Bunting Army’ in their semi-final clash at Alexandra Palace on Thursday.
Littler continued his fight for a first World Darts title with a convincing 5-2 win over Nathan Aspinall, after Bunting beat Peter Wright by the same margin.
Both players are getting huge support from the Ally Pally crowd, with Bunting’s ‘Titanium’ walk-on and Littler’s ‘Greenlight’ song creating huge buzz ahead of each match, and the pre-tournament favorite is fully aware that the crowd will not all support his bid to reach another World Cup final championship.
“They [the crowd] they were good for me tonight,” Littler he told Sky Sports after defeating Aspinall. “They were also good to Stephen.
“They can pick and root for whoever they want. I can see a lot of Nuke shirts here, so I think I’m better!”
With Luke Humphries suffering a shock early exit, Littler now enters the semi-finals as heavy favorites – Michael van Gerwen takes on Chris Dobey in the other semi – but he knows anything can happen on the Ally Pally stage.
But the 17-year-old is feeling his best all tournament and hopes to repeat that on Thursday night to book his place in the final again.
“Everyone probably thinks that, but anything can happen on the day, it’s a World Cup semi-final,” Littler said.
“Michael has obviously been there many times, Chris is in the first, I’m in the second and I know Bunting is in the first or second so it’s going to be a good night.
“I felt the best I have so far in this tournament, so hopefully I can regroup and come back and it will be the same feeling.
“We all know what the expectations are and it’s very different to last year, but tonight I felt the best and hopefully I can get back together and feel like I did on that stage tomorrow (Thursday).
“I’d probably just say I felt different playing Ryan Meikle and then I came through against Ian White, obviously the 3-1 lead was key against Ian and then a tough test against Ryan, I think that’s what we was supposed to, and then tonight I just settled.”
Bunting demands more from the Ally Pally audience
While Littler is ready for his opponent to have the fans onside when they meet in their semi-final, Bunting dealt with the growing support of Wright himself as he fought back in their quarter-final.
At the end of his match, Bunting praised the crowd but called for more.
“Listen [to the crowd] you were unreal in the first four sets, but you have to be better,” Bunting said Sky Sports.
“I thought to myself, just try to refocus. Every game I just focused on that opponent. The crowd, amazing again.
“Let’s go Bunting mental!”
What’s next?
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen heads Thursday’s first leg as he meets Dobey, seeking to reach the final for the first time, before pre-tournament favorite Littler takes on Bunting in the other semi-final.
The World Darts Championship kicks off major darts live in 2025 on Sky Sports, including the Premier League, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts.
Littler is the defending Premier League champion after beating world No.1 Humphries in last year’s final – but will he go into this year’s events as 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 more top sports with NOW.
