Stephen Bunting slammed by darts fans for his ‘childish’ reaction to shock defeat on european tour

Stephen Bunting Slammed by Darts Fans for His ‘Childish’ Reaction to Shock Defeat on European Tour

Stephen Bunting is no stranger to controversy, but the St Helens thrower has found himself in hot water once again after darts fans rounded on him for his behaviour following a shock defeat at the Belgian Darts Open in Wieze.

‘The Bullet’ was beaten 6-4 by Belgian native Andy Baetens in the second round, missing an astonishing 14 darts at a double during the first-to-six leg shootout for a place in the last 16. Bunting’s 85 match average was a deeply disappointing return for the world number nine.

But it wasn’t the defeat itself that set tongues wagging — it was what happened afterwards. Fans were quick to pile in on social media, with one particularly cutting comment summing up the mood: “The disrespect from Stephen Bunting towards Andy Baetens at the end was childish and petty.”

The reaction from the darts community was swift and brutal, with many feeling that Bunting had shown a lack of class towards his opponent — a player who had pulled off one of the results of the tournament. Baetens had already beaten Joe Cullen in the first round and was fully deserving of his victory over one of the Premier League’s elite eight.

For Bunting, the timing couldn’t be worse. This follows the ridicule ‘The Bullet’ faced during the 2026 World Darts Championship after self-proclaiming to be ‘The People’s Champion.’ That episode had already dented his popularity among sections of the darts fanbase, and this latest incident will do little to repair his image.

It has been a turbulent few months for the 40-year-old. Just last week, Bunting was at the centre of another controversy during the European Darts Trophy in Germany, where he was subjected to hostile crowd behaviour during his defeat to Niko Springer. Referee Huw Ware was forced to interrupt play to tell the crowd to “shut up” as Bunting lost 6-5 in a match marred by whistling from sections of the home support. Springer himself later admitted feeling “ashamed” about the treatment his opponent received, saying: “What happened at the end wasn’t entirely fair towards Stephen.”

Bunting reacted emotionally after that defeat, taking to social media to express his hurt. He wrote: “I never moan about defeats or cry about them, but I feel really hurt tonight even though it was only a small minority of people. To boo and whistle at important times through any match isn’t acceptable.”

There is no doubting Bunting’s talent. He won both the Swiss and German Darts Opens in 2025 on the European Tour, proving he can compete at the highest level. But his temperament and behaviour when things go wrong are increasingly coming under the spotlight.

His attention will now turn to Premier League action on Thursday, as the exclusive eight travel to Berlin where Bunting faces back-to-back world champion and world number one Luke Littler for the second week in a row. With critics watching his every move, ‘The Bullet’ will need to fire back on the oche — and do so with a smile on his face.