Premier League Darts LIVE RESULT: Stephen Bunting beats Gerwyn Price to WIN Night 9 in Berlin – updates
Stephen Bunting came out on top in Berlin on Night 9 of Premier League Darts.
Bunting came into the round with a losing record that stretched back to a decade, but vanish League demons to beat Gerwyn Price 6-5.
The Bullet overcame Nathan Aspinall and world No.1 Luke Humphries on his way to his triumph.
Whilst, Price was handed a bye due to Michael van Gerwen's late withdrawal via injury before trashing Chris Dobey in the semis.
Table-topper Luke Littler was dumped out in the quarter-finals to Dobey, after winning four of the first eight nights.
- TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event
- Live stream: NOW/Sky Sports app
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Luke Humphries 3-3 Rob Cross
Humphries BREAKS!
And does so in 14 darts, missing dart 12 and 13 at a double but coming back for D10 to take it out.
Cross himself missed D16 for a 110 checkout to hold, how big might that miss be!?
Luke Humphries 2-3 Rob Cross
Comfortable holds are a theme at the minute and this time it's Humphries with it.
He cleans up 88 on D4 with Cross not on a finish and he's back within one.
Luke Humphries 1-3 Rob Cross
Two leg cushion restored as he bosses his hold of throw despite making it difficult for himself.
Misses at D10, D5 and D2 means he's left needing D1 but with Humphries back on 144, Cross takes it out comfortably.
Luke Humphries 1-2 Rob Cross
That is some response from the world number one to hold.
He leaves 61 and Cross' 140 to leave 73 puts pressure on the 61.
But a two-darter cleans that up to get him back in it.
Luke Humphries 0-2 Rob Cross
Back-to-back 12-dart legs from Rob Cross who has taken early control of this one.
Humphries was back over 200 when Cross came back having left 57 after nine darts.
He needs three darts to take out the 57, ending on D10.
Luke Humphries 0-1 Rob Cross
CROSS BREAKS!
And he's good value for it, too. Humphries not quite settled and showing the form of his last couple of weeks.
Cross picks him off with a peach of a 110 checkout, finishing on his trusted D18 to edge ahead,
Luke Humphries 0-0 Rob Cross
And it'll be Cool Hand to throw first in this quarter final!
But Cross has won four of the last five meetings between the pair!
But who will he play?
It's either Rob Cross or Luke Humphries - and they're on their way to the stage now!
The crowd response has been terrific for the four walk-ons so far!
Luke Humphries (1/2) vs Rob Cross (13/8) - odds provided by .
What it means
It's been a rough ride in the Premier League for Stephen Bunting and he's not going to be challenging for a top four spot.
But just look what it means to him to get over the line for the first time. He's waited nine weeks for a taste of victory!
Would you believe it!? STEPHEN BUNTING HAS WON A PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH!
Nathan Aspinall 2-6 Stephen Bunting
He's had to wait a decade for victory in this competition but FINALLY he's done it.
A puff of the cheeks and big smile on his face as he collects his darts out the board.
Aspinall with a face like fizz. And rightly too, he should've won that first leg against the throw and who knows how that would've went from there.
Nathan Aspinall 2-5 Stephen Bunting
A hold of throw for Bunting and he's one win away from victory!
A terrific checkout of 81, cleaning up on D6 with Aspinall opening with another 180 and pressurising throughout the leg.
Nathan Aspinall 2-4 Stephen Bunting
Aspinall manages to hold this time, with both men opening with a 180.
Despite missing D16 to close out the leg with Bunting on 8, Aspinall comes back for D8 to hold this time.
Nathan Aspinall 1-4 Stephen Bunting
Comfortable 11-dart hold of throw for Bunting with Aspinall back on 237.
He's looked a different player from the one who has been miles off it in this competition.
Nathan Aspinall 1-3 Stephen Bunting
Bunting breaks!
How crucial that might be! Aspinall misses D16 for a 112 checkout to level things up.
Bunting comes back for 72 and makes a hash of his first throw but a terrific T17, D8 two-dart combo sees him take control of this one.
Nathan Aspinall 1-2 Stephen Bunting
Scoring-wise, that was a pretty poor leg from both players.
Bunting misses a couple of darts at double but Aspinall is too far back to pose any danger.
Bunting leaves 16 and has to watch Aspinall set up 32 to pressure his throw a bit but Bunting takes out the D8.
Nathan Aspinall 1-1 Stephen Bunting
Aspinall's scoring is so much stronger than Bunting's in these early exchanges.
And this time he needs just one dart at D16 to take it with a 12-dart hold of throw. Bunting back around 250 so no pressure!
Nathan Aspinall 0-1 Stephen Bunting
What a leg to start things off and it's a huge hold for Bunting!
Against all the odds too as Aspinall pings in two 180s and missed FOUR darts for the break of throw.
That included a final dart into the D13 instead of D4 at the end. Bunting is plugging along and leaves 40, needing two darts to take it on the final visit.
Nathan Aspinall 0-0 Stephen Bunting
And it's Stephen Bunting to throw first.
Game on!
Here they come for the opener!
Nathan Aspinall out first and he bounds down the walkway and up to the stage.
Always a shame when his walk-out is up first for the night but it's got the crowd going nice and early!
The song is cut short to introduce Stephen Bunting, who isn't quite as 'spring in his step' as The Asp.
Still a good sing-a-long mind you as the pair shake hands at the oche.
Fixtures and odds
Three matches in the quarter finals and we're about to get underway with the first of those.
Here's what we have to look forward to and the odds for each match.
- Nathan Aspinall (10/11) vs Stephen Bunting (10/11)
- Luke Humphries (1/2) vs Rob Cross (13/8)
- Chris Dobey (9/2) vs Luke Littler (1/7)
- Gerwyn Price receives a bye
*Odds provided by
What a practice!
Sky Sports' coverage managed to video Stephen Bunting on the practice boards - at the right time.
The man who is yet to win in the Premier League this year banged in a nine-darter backstage in the lead up to tonight!
Queen of the arrows
Coverage isn't long underway and it looks like there'll be plenty of time in between matches, with one match less.
Here's Emma Paton and her latest stunning Thursday night look!
Credit: SkySports What does MVG's withdrawal mean?
It means Gerwyn Price - due to meet the Dutchman in the quarters - gets a bye to the semi final tonight.
And two points onto his table tally too!
If Luke Littler progresses beyond Chris Dobey, he'll meet nemesis Price in the semis!
BREAKING: Michael van Gerwen OUT
For more on MVG's withdrawal, read below:
10 to go
Action from Berlin is set to get underway at the slightly earlier time of 6:15pm BST this evening.
Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting are set to get the action underway 10 minutes!
