Stephen Bunting has admitted that his packed schedule is taking its toll after a quarter-final hammering at the hands of Wessel Nijman ended his weekend in Bratislava. The Bullet will today be en route to the US Darts Masters to play in New York, but he confessed that defending a huge amount of prize money at the next PDC World Darts Championship is a major factor disrupting him.
Similar to Michael van Gerwen, Bunting faces a ranking drop if he does not play every event to keep his seat at the top table of World Darts. That has made it more of a hindrance than ever, especially as he also plays in unranked events such as the US World Series. 'That's what makes it more difficult. I am looking for results elsewhere,' said Bunting in Bratislava. 'I know I am defending big money at the World Championships. I am trying my hardest.'
The travel schedule is particularly tough, going from Slovakia back home to the UK, then immediately on a long flight to New York for the US Darts Masters. A country that goes for it in terms of pre-tournament media days means Bunting will have his hands full before he even takes to the oche on the early hours of Friday morning. 'It's so hard travelling playing Premier League, travelling the European Tour, doing the ProTours then going to New York. I get home on Monday and then I fly to New York on Tuesday for the World Series. It's so difficult but we need to turn up to these events,' he said.
Luke Humphries, for instance, skipped the Slovak Darts Open due to the US tournament, and he and Littler likely would have played had it been better placed in the year due to it being a first time event. Bunting, however, has chosen to play anyway and deal with the issues later, under less pressure ranking wise. Despite his gripes, he speaks glowingly of the fans as a reason to travel. 'I feed off these fans and they mean the world to me. Whether I am in Bratislava, Germany or the UK I always feel the force of the fans,' he added.
