Stephen Bunting won his first PDC major this weekend beating Michael van Gerwen in the final of the Masters 2024. After the match, the Dutchman showed himself to be a gracious winner by returning to the stage when he noticed The Bullet’s son.
Michael van Gerwen going back to Stephen Bunting to congratulate his son 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/iqVFVREobs
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) February 4, 2024
It had been 10 years since the Englishman won his last televised tournament. At that time, he triumphed in the BDO World Championship, defeating Alan Norris 7-4 in the final. On his way to that title, Bunting also defeated a Dutchman, Rick Hofstra, who could only take two legs off the newly crowned Masters 2024 winner in the quarterfinal.
At the time of Bunting’s previous victory, Toby Bunting was only 1.5 years old, so he wouldn’t remember the title. Now 11 years old, he joined his father on stage to celebrate the title. Like Stephen Bunting, Toby also displayed emotions, and the act of returning to the stage to congratulate them together was greatly appreciated by the English duo.
Stephen Bunting’s emotional nature with a heart of gold was previously evident at the 2015 PDC World Championship. Despite losing to Barney, The Bullet stood proudly on the podium. Barney took the microphone and praised Bunting, bringing tears to the Englishman’s eyes.
Bunting explained that he couldn’t hold back tears hearing his idol speak so highly of him. As a child, Stephen Bunting had always been a big fan of Raymond van Barneveld, and standing against the Dutchman in the world championship was a dream come true for him.
Below, we provide a retrospective look at the emotional moment captured in the footage from back then.