Stephen Bunting has revealed the four players who would make up his Mount Rushmore of darts ahead of this year’s World Championship.
Bunting is currently ranked fourth in the world and reached the semi-finals of last year’s World Championship before losing to the eventual winner Luke Littler.
The 40-year-old has enjoyed an impressive rise in recent years, gaining a legion of new fans thanks to his social media presence and hugely popular walk-on song.
Despite his surging popularity, Bunting is far from a fresh face on the scene, having won the BDO World Championship all the way back in 2014.
The Liverpudlian first picked up a set of darts at age 11 and has been a student and avid follower of the game ever since.
And speaking ahead of his latest trip down to Alexandra Palace for the Worlds, Bunting said that four players stood out above the rest in his time watching and competing in the sport.
‘The first would have to be Phil Taylor. He was the greatest of all time,’ Bunting told Metro via Dream Vegas.
‘Eric Bristow would be up there because of the charisma he brought and how good he was.
‘Next, I am going to say Raymond van Barneveld, because he did it in both organisations.
‘From being a postman to becoming a world champion, the story he had was one of the ones that really got me into darts.
‘One more, I would probably say Luke Littler, if we are being honest, because of what he has done for the sport over the last few years. So I think they would be my top four. That is a strong top four, to be honest.’
Stephen Bunting's Mount Rushmore of darts
Phil Taylor: ‘The Power’ has long been seen as the sport’s best-ever player, having won 85 major titles during his storied career, including 16 World Champions.
He remained world number one for a staggering 13-year period and was also the first person to hit two nine-dart finishes in the same match.
Eric Bristow: During his era of dominance in the late seventies and eighties, Bristow, who passed away in 2018 aged 60, won five WDF World Championships and five World Masters.
Raymond van Barneveld: A five-time World Champion (four-time BDO and one-time PDC), the Dutchman was one of Taylor’s great rivals throughout the 2000s and is making his 19th appearance at the PDC World Darts Championship this year.
Luke Littler: Only two years into his professional career, ‘The Nuke’ has won virtually everything there is to win in the sport and turbocharged the sport’s popularity even further.
In 2025, he became the youngest-ever world champion with his victory over Michael van Gerwen and is favourite to become only the fourth player (after Taylor, Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis) to win the crown in back-to-back years.
‘Beating Taylor was a highlight of my career’
Bunting has been competing across various organisations for more than 20 years, but two particular moments in his career stick out more than the rest.
‘The 2014 World Championship, when I played Alan Norris in the Lakeside final, is definitely one, Bunting added. ‘I had been to Lakeside seven or eight years, and it was a dream of mine to lift that World Championship crown.
‘To be able to do that in 2014 is still one of the highlights of my career. I remember loads of good stuff from that day, feeling great in the morning, getting on the practice board, going on stage.
‘I think I had a decent average in the final, played a good final, and to finally win it after so many years was a great moment.
‘I also played Phil Taylor in the European Championships, I think second round, quite a few years ago now, and beat him 10–9 on a big stage. That was another highlight of my career.’
And if he could wind back time, Bunting insisted he would love the opportunity to face off against the legendary Taylor one last time.
‘What he did for the game raised it to different levels,’ he said. ‘He is the best that has ever walked the planet in my opinion.
‘He did it with fat darts, slim darts, he did it in the BDO and the PDC. You look at the résumé he has got, and I would have to say Phil as my dream opponent.’
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