Luke Littler and his darts rivals have been sent a clear warning from Stephen Bunting after his Dutch Masters final appearance.
Littler suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the Bunting after a thrilling 7-6 result in the semi-finals in Den Bosch, which came after he beat Michael van Gerwen at the tournament.
Bunting, the top seed at the event after his success last year, went on to face Rob Cross in the final on Saturday night.
But it proved to be one step too far for the 39-year-old ace, who fell to a 7-3 defeat in front of a packed crowd at the Maasport Den Bosch.
Bunting, who paid a glowing tribute to the fans in the Netherlands, conceded he would’ve been pleased just to make the final and felt his performance proves he is at the peak of his powers.
“If you’d have said to me at the start of the tournament that I’d be in the final I’d have taken it,” Bunting said.
“Credit to Rob [Cross], I’m playing the best darts of my life and I’m disappointed not to win.”
It was another huge step in Bunting’s career after he won the Bahrain Masters last week, beating Gerwyn Price 8-4 to claim the World Series of Darts title.
Bunting’s words should not be taken for granted, as even Littler found it difficult to see off ‘The Bullet’.
Not even Littler’s incredible average of 107.59 could put daylight between them, with the Liverpudlian’s ability to come up trumps on the checkout giving him the edge in their semi-final encounter.
Despite taking 2-0 and 3-1 leads early on, the Nuke was just unable to shake off his opponent as Bunting pulled out all the stops.
The Englishman, 39, took him all the way to the deciding leg at 6-6 and he opened up a sizeable lead in the leg, before Littler dug out a maximum 180 to get himself onto a finish.
But with 84 left, Bunting found a treble 19 and made no mistake in landing the double 12 to clinch the tie, denying Littler the chance to make the final.
It comes after Littler, who turned 18 last week, admitted that he hadn’t practiced at all since taking part in the Bahrain Masters.
“I’ve not picked up a dart since Bahrain. I’ve just had some time to relax and celebrate my 18th birthday on Tuesday,” Littler said before his first-round match.
“I just want to win that first game. I’d love to pick up a second title in 2025.”