Stephen Bunting believes Luke Littler can end his career as the greatest darts player of all time, even if he doesn’t win as many titles as the legendary Phil Taylor.
Littler had been on course for a clean sweep of the 2026 ranking events before a shock exit at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.
The world No 1 had won the first six events of the season following his World Championship triumph at Alexandra Palace in January with the World Masters, UK Open, Premier League, World Cup of Darts and World Matchplay.
Littler hoped to add World Series of Darts Finals, World Grand Prix, European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship finals trophies to complete a historic monopoly during the year – but lost to Jonny Clayton in the quarterfinals.
Despite the loss, many pundits are already predicting the 19-year-old will become the greatest player the sport has ever seen – including Bunting.
“Yes”, said the 41-year-old Sky Sports News when asked if he thinks Littler can end his career as the greatest darts player ever. “I think he has a lot more to give to the sport.”
However, Bunting believes darts legend Taylor, who retired in 2018, will still have the edge over Littler when it comes to the number of titles won.
“I think he’ll win a lot of world titles, but I don’t think he’ll win as many as Phil,” he said. “The standard of play is much better than it was in Phil’s time. Phil dominated.
“But (Littler) is someone who has changed our sport. He has lowered the (age) demographic of the sport. If you ask people who a darts player is, they all say Luke Littler, that’s how powerful his name is.”
However, Bunting admitted that he would rather leave the debate over who is the best to Taylor and Littler themselves.
“I think of course Luke’s ceiling is phenomenal,” he continued. “Based on his ceiling, he’s the best player in the world. Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor won 16 world championships – you can’t take that away from Phil.
“If Phil tells me he’s the best darts player in the world, he’s the best darts player in the world. I’ll let them discuss that. I’d be happy to win a world title or two, but Luke is already cracking it.
“He’s playing fantastic, won another European Tour, so he’s pretty unstoppable. But there are some players behind him who can also have high ceilings, so on the day, who knows what can happen.”
Speaking in Love Arrows podcast, addressed Bunting The little girl was booed and booed during the finals of the World Series of Darts where he was asked if he had gone too far.
“A loud whistle really puts you off and I’ve had it in my career. It’s not pretty and it’s uncomfortable when you throw for a double,” Bunting said. “It is the minority”.
Goodbye Peter Griffin, hello Titanium
Stephen Bunting reckons Taylor will end up with more titles than Littler
Bunting will compete in the World Grand Prix, where he will be looking to go one step further after making the semi-finals twice before.
“Definitely,” Bunting said when asked if he could win the title in Leicester. “Hopefully I can go with some really good form, these next few tournaments push me there with some confidence.
“The Grand Prix is a doubles format, I really enjoy hitting my doubles. It’s going to be a great tournament. It’s great that Sky Sports is covering it and hopefully I can put on a good show for the fans and take the title.”
As well as seeing Bunting in full force, fans at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena will be in for a treat when he breaks out into his ‘Titanium’ single.
“My son’s favorite song,” Bunting said when asked about his song change. “It was easy pickings. I wanted to get away from Peter Griffin and them “Bird is the word” song. Everyone has been really positive about it.
“It’s one of the most beautiful songs in my opinion. It’s a really special moment when I’m doing the actions and they’re singing it to me. It makes me feel so happy.
“Obviously, we’re up there to do a job and play darts, but the walk and the crowd takes the pressure off and it relaxes me when I’ve done the walk.
“When the crowd chants ‘let’s go Bunting-mental’ they really are my 12th man. To be able to use the crowd as a power is really important, they are a big part of my game and it’s nice to be able to give something back to them.”
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Bunting recalls that viral interview with Raymond van Barneveld on Ally Pally
Bunting opens up on the dark side of social media and gambling in ‘Bulletproof’
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Bunting discusses how he got through the toughest time of his career
spoke to Bunting Sky Sports News ahead of the launch of his new book ‘Bulletproof’, the autobiography’s title a nod to the lyrics of ‘Titanium’ and his nickname – but also to his battle to refuse to give up his arrows.
“It can be really hard sometimes,” Bunting admitted when asked about the hate he can get on social media. “I’m lucky to have a great team around me, a brilliant family and some incredible fans and they’ve really helped me through a bit of a dark time.
“He came out of the ‘people’s champion’ debacle, which was taken way out of context. I’ve put all that behind me now. It’s about rebuilding again. The confidence is high, even though the results aren’t going my way at the moment, I’m sure that will change.
“It was important to tell everyone, this was a life story, so everything has to be there,” he said. “Gambling debts were a big part of my life.
“When times were low, I would shut down and be on my phone gambling. It was a horrible place to be. I was in a mess and thankfully, the sports psychologist, the hypnotist and everything about it really helped me and helped me look at it in a positive way, even though something might not be positive, still taking a positive look at it.
“Gambling was a way out at the time, but I was able to put it to bed and if a little bit of this book can help anyone in this situation, the book is a winner.”
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