“My back hurt so much,” Bunting said afterwards. “I couldn’t get my darts up. I tried to stretch, but that just made it worse. I don’t know how I managed to win so many legs. The crowd knew I was in pain, so shame about all the negativity on social media. Well done Danny, you played well.”
In recent years, Bunting has emerged as one of the most beloved darts players on the planet. His hit song ‘Bulletproof’ has become a real classic, everyone is crazy about his hilarious TikTok videos and with ‘The People’s Champ’ the Englishman has now received a second – telling – nickname.
Danny Noppert provides the Dutch boost at the World Grand Prix and is in the quarter-finals
Hate
And yet, after his defeat against Noppert, Bunting became the victim of hate messages. Several of these were shared on his Facebook page. “So much hatred does not deserve a defeat. Sad to see,” said Bunting.
Painful performance by Michael van Gerwen at World Grand Prix, Gian van Veen stopped by Luke Littler despite tournament record
Earlier this week, after his victory against Peter Wright in the first round, Belgian darts player Mike De Decker spoke openly about the hatred he received after the unexpectedly quick elimination from the World Cup, the World Cup for national teams. “The hate I got for that made me realize that I don’t play for my country but for myself. I even got hate from people – Belgians – who I meet every week,” he said.