Stephen Bunting is targeting back-to-back BetMGM Premier League nightly wins on Thursday, as the sport’s biggest roadshow rolls into Manchester on Night Ten.
Bunting opened his Premier League account in sensational style last Thursday, snapping his eight-match losing run with a hat-trick of victories to secure Night Nine glory in Berlin.
The Liverpudlian backed up those heroics by celebrating a maiden European Tour title in Riesa on Sunday, and now he’s aiming to extend his winning run at the AO Arena on Thursday April 10.
Bunting will take on Luke Humphries in the evening’s fourth-quarter-final, having already claimed a brace of victories over the world number one during the last seven days.
The former Masters champion dispatched Humphries 6-2 in the Night Nine semi-finals, before winning through a pulsating last-leg decider at the same stage of last weekend’s International Darts Open.
“I know I’m playing against the best players in the world, but I also know I’ve got the game to beat these guys,” insisted Bunting, who celebrates his 40th birthday today.
“I’m world number four, I’m playing some of the best darts of my life at the minute, and hopefully this is just the start of things to come.
“I’ve dug in and played some really good darts, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season now.
“It’s not dead and buried. I’m not out of it yet, and I will keep fighting right until the very end of the Premier League.”
Despite his defeat to Bunting in Berlin, Humphries reduced Luke Littler’s lead at the Premier League summit to six points, after the teenager crashed out in the quarter-finals against Chris Dobey.
The reigning Premier League champion will look to bounce back when he kicks off his Night Ten campaign against Gerwyn Price, who has remarkably won each of their last six meetings.
Littler’s last victory over the Welshman came just under a year ago, but having prevailed in Manchester last year, the Warrington-born phenom is bidding to repeat the feat on home soil.
“I would love to go back-to-back in Manchester,” admitted Littler, who is aiming to become the first player to register five nightly wins in the same Premier League season.
“I know there are plenty of weeks to go, but I want to get that fifth nightly win and break the record as soon as possible.
“Gezzy knows how to beat me, but I will go up on stage with the same mindset of winning that first game and getting another two points on the board.
“I’m very excited to be back in Manchester. It was amazing to get the win on debut last year, and obviously now I’m going back as World Champion, so hopefully I can pick up another title.”
Stockport star Nathan Aspinall will also aim to deliver in front of his home crowd at the AO Arena, as he looks to maintain his remarkable winning run against Rob Cross.
Aspinall has won his last seven encounters against the 2017/18 World Champion, and he arrives in Manchester fresh from featuring in a second straight European Tour final over the weekend.
Cross, meanwhile, is a point adrift of Michael van Gerwen in the Play-Off positions, and the Dutch superstar returns to action after being forced to withdraw from Night Nine due to a shoulder injury.
Seven-time Premier League champion Van Gerwen takes on Dobey in Thursday’s curtain-raiser, having won both of his meetings against the Bedlington star in this year’s league phase.
However, Dobey’s resounding win over Littler in Berlin last Thursday has seen him move to within six points of a top four place, as he bids to ignite his Play-Off aspirations.
The 2025 Premier League sees eight of the sport’s biggest names contesting 16 mini-events during the season, with each league night comprising quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final over the best of 11 legs.
Ranking points will be awarded per night - with five to the winner, three to the runner-up and two to the semi-finalists - to form the league table from which the top four players will progress to the Play-Offs at The O2 in London on Thursday May 29.
The 2025 BetMGM Premier League will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK & Ireland, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers (outside of the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland).
2025 BetMGM Premier League
Night Ten - Thursday April 10
AO Arena, Manchester
Quarter-Finals
Chris Dobey v Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall v Rob Cross
Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price
Stephen Bunting v Luke Humphries
Semi-Finals
Dobey/Van Gerwen v Aspinall/Cross
Littler/Price v Bunting/Humphries
Final
v
All matches best of 11 legs
