Cazoo Masters: Stephen Bunting beats Michael van Gerwen to win maiden televised PDC title
- Published
Stephen Bunting was playing in his first televised PDC final since the 2014 Sydney Darts Masters
Stephen Bunting put in a brilliant performance to defeat Michael van Gerwen in the Cazoo Masters final and win his first televised PDC title.
The Englishman beat five-time champion Van Gerwen 11-7 in Milton Keynes in his first televised PDC final since the 2014 Sydney Darts Masters.
Having thrashed Peter Wright 10-2 and Nathan Aspinall 11-1, Bunting kept that form to average 102 in the title match.
"I'm lost for words," an emotional Bunting, 38, said afterwards.
"This just shows my hard work is paying off, and it's a great start to the season. Hopefully I can push on from this.
"My main aim when I moved over from the BDO was to win big titles, but you're playing the best of the best, and you're going to be pushed all the way."
The victory was only Bunting's fourth in 26 matches against Van Gerwen and despite earning the first break of the match to go 5-3 up, he was made to work for it.
The Dutchman hit back and won three legs on the spin to level at 6-6 before Bunting claimed what proved to be the decisive break for an 8-7 lead.
Van Gerwen missed three darts to level and when Bunting hit back-to-back 180s on his way to an 11-dart hold, he was one leg from a memorable victory.
The St Helens man hit tops to wrap it up and secure the 拢65,000 prize money and the trophy.
"Michael is a multiple world champion. He's a fantastic player," Bunting added.
"I've beaten Luke Humphries this weekend, and I've beaten Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall - all Premier League players.
"That is where I want to get my game back to so let's see what happens in the future, but I really think I deserve this trophy."