Luke Littler’s behind the scenes mind games revealed by darts rival Stephen Bunting

Stephen Bunting and Luke Littler are on course for yet another Premier League Darts meeting after some high-level clashes both there and in the PDC World Championship

Darts star Stephen Bunting has shed light on rival Luke Littler’s “very strange” practices ahead of matches. Littler and Bunting met in the semi-finals of the World Championship in January, with Bunting averaging more than a 100 but still suffering a 6-1 hammering at the hands of the eventual tournament winner.

The pair have met on a number of occasions since, including in this year’s Premier League Darts competition. Littler came out on top when the pair were matched in a quarter-final in Exeter in February, repeating the trick at the same stage in Newcastle the following month.

Bunting got a modicum of revenge in Rotterdam in April, beating Littler in the semis before losing to Chris Dobey in the weekly final. The fourth Littler-Bunting clash is set to take place tonight in Birmingham, and ‘The Bullet’ has opened up on his rival’s unconventional preparations.

“I think he’s probably the one with the mind games, to be fair. Although I’m probably the one with the experience,” Bunting told talkSPORT.

“He’s doing things in the practice room that we’re taught not to do. So, he very rarely picks the darts up in the practice room, very strange.

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“He’ll be sat on his phone either watching Man United or playing a Formula 1 game on his phone. And I’ll be on the practice board for four hours,” Bunting continued.

“Then he’ll get up, he’ll throw for bull, and then he’ll get on stage and average 110. And you’re like: ‘How are you doing that?’ So, it’s incredible.”

Littler leads the overall Premier League Darts standings as he looks to defend the title he won at the first time of asking last year. He has 30 points after 12 weeks, while Bunting is bringing up the rear with just eight and faces an uphill battle to qualify for the play-offs.

‘The Nuke’ had a tough time of things in week 12, though, throwing away a 4-0 lead to lose to Michael van Gerwen in Liverpool. Manchester United fan was booed by the partisan crowd on Merseyside, but said before the event that he was ready for whatever they might throw at him.

Gerwyn Price came out on top in Liverpool, beating Luke Humphries 6-4 in the final. Humphries has a chance to take immediate revenge, with the pair facing off in the quarter-finals in Birmingham.

“I just want to make top four,” Price told Sky Sports after the victory, which earned him five points and lifted him to third in the standings. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s one, two, three or four as long as I am at the O2 in a few weeks.”