Stephen Bunting crashes out of World Darts Championships in shock defeat
Stephen Bunting impressed in the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, but he has crashed out of the 2026 edition in the third round against James Hurrell.
Stephen Bunting has crashed out of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship after a 4-3 defeat to James Hurrell in the third round. The number four in the world is the highest seed to drop out of the competition, which has burst his side of the bracket wide open for the coming rounds.
The Bullet reached the semi-final of the competition last year, with an impressive run at Alexandra Palace that saw him lose to Luke Littler. That performance, the second time he reached the final four of the competition, was enough to earn the 40-year-old a place in the Premier League.
Bunting has been a regular favourite among darts fans in recent years, with his personality, walk-on and branding winning over many of the Ally Pally faithful. Chants of “Let’s go Bunting mental” have regularly been heard from the crowd, while his walk-on song, Titanium by David Guetta, has become an iconic sight for many.
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Bunting turned up off the back of mixed 2025, where he reached four World Series finals, winning two of them. He did finish bottom of the Premier League, however, as he struggled to adjust to the level, with just one night win, and seven match wins out of 22 played.
The star was hoping to make an impact at the Worlds this time around, while possibly going two better than his semi-final exit last time out. However, tough matches saw him scrape past Sebastian Bialecki, before he got past Nitin Kumar.
It seemed as though Bunting was ill for his third-round meeting with Hurrell, as he got off to a slow start compared to “The Hill Billy”. The underdog took a one-set lead that could’ve easily been two, though he missed darts to produce that breathing room he desired.
Both pushed each other to a deciding set in a first-to -four, but eventually it was Hurrell who pushed through to take another impressive scalp on his way to the fourth round. The 41-year-old picked up a victory over Stowe Buntz in the first round before getting past Dirk van Duijvenbode.
It’s not the first upset the Ally Pally crowd have witnessed so far this year, but Bunting’s exit is the highest seed to have crashed out this early in the competition. Other surprises have seen Wesley Plaisier knock out Gerwyn Price, while David Munyua’s win over Mike De Decker lives long in the memory.
Bunting was hopeful of making it far, as he said before the tournament: “I am really excited. Obviously, the buzz around Christmas anyway with a young family at home. I just can’t wait to get to Ally Pally. I’ve been working hard over this last year and I believe I can win it.
“I just believe in my own ability. Obviously, there’s been some really bad darts this year. But there’s been some really good ones. I’m coming in in great form. I think the averages are all up there with the best of the players. Yeah, we’ll just see how we go.
“But I’ve got a great fan base behind me. Great management. Great family. Everything feels great.”
Bunting now faces a challenge in keeping his top-four seeding in the PDC rankings to secure himself a place in the Premier League next year through qualification. Only the top four qualify automatically for the competition, while the remaining four picks are through invitation.
As it stands, that would see Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, and Bunting all included in the competition. However, there are plenty of changes that could to that ranking, especially with how open the rest of the tournament bracket is.
Hurrell takes on the winner of Ryan Searle and Martin Schindler, while the winner of that will take on either number five in the world Jonny Clayton or debutant Andreas Harrysson.
