‘A lonely place’ – Stephen Bunting left in tears following online hate during World Darts Championship

Stephen Bunting was left in tears after his second-round win at the World Darts Championship due to recent online abuse.

‘The Bullet’, who has become a major fan favourite in the sport, has sadly seen some people turn on him during the tournament.

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And after a dominant 3-0 victory over Nitin Kumar on Saturday night, Bunting emotionally discussed recent social media comments.

The 40-year-old is one of the faces of darts, with his walk-on to David Guetta and Sia’s ‘Titanium’ one of the sport’s spectacles.

But after stating that he was the ‘People’s Champion’ following the first round, his words appeared to cause some backlash online.

And that reaction seems to have taken a toll on the World No.4, as he broke into tears speaking about the hate he has received.

“I never ever shy away from my fans,” Bunting began post-match. “I’ll stand by it, I still think I’ve got the biggest fanbase in darts.

“I’m lucky, you saw it tonight, how loud was that crowd…the walk-on was exceptional, they got behind me every single leg.

“Even at times when I’d salvage 45 or 59, they were always there behind me and that’s so important for a person.

“When you’re stood up on that stage it’s a lonely place, and if things don’t go right you can look at your family, look at your manager or sponsors, but it’s down to you.”

Bunting then paused and said with a crack in his voice: “I’m getting a bit emotional, but…”

He then took a deep breath to try and compose himself before being unable to talk for the next few seconds as he could not hold back some tears in what was a vulnerable moment.

X formerly Twitter / @DartsNow

X formerly Twitter / @DartsNow

‘Really hurtful’

Bunting spoke further on the online hate he has received to talkSPORT after his second-round win against Kumar.

He said: “The fans were unbelievable tonight again, you feel the emotion. The walk-on was exceptional.

“I had a bit of hate online and I thought that was going to relate into the game, to be honest.

“But the fans inside the venue, they know how special they are to me and I was able to use the energy to push myself through.”

When asked whether he was nervous about the reaction of the crowd, he added: “Yeah, of course.

“I shouldn’t really look at social media and go on there to look at some of the comments, some are really hurtful.

“I’m a normal guy, I try and give back to the crowd, trying and give back to the fans, I’ve got my YouTube channel and I try to be as normalised as I can be.

“We live in a society where we’re in the spotlight very much and luckily tonight I was able to get over the line.

“I’m glad that 99.9 per cent of the crowd were behind me and I’ll use that power to be able to pull through.

“And hopefully that resonates with the rest of the tournament.”

Bunting will next take on fellow Englishman James Hurrell in the third round of the World Championship after Christmas.

The match is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 27.