Stephen Bunting Slams Jermaine Wattimena Days After Hostile Belgian Darts Open Encounter 1u3s5t

Stephen Bunting has hit back at Jermaine Wattimena, as there appeared to be some friction between the two at the Belgian Darts Open.

Stephen Bunting Slams Jermaine Wattimena Days After Hostile Belgian Darts Open Encounter 1u3s5t

The Liverpudlian darts star picked up a 6-3 win over Jermaine Wattimena at the Belgian Darts Open and did so after losing the first three legs.

However, this miraculous comeback was not the main talking point after the match, as the two appeared to have some friction on stage.

After securing the victory, Bunting offered his hand to Wattimena for a sign of respect with a handshake, however, the Dutchman appeared to blank his opponent.

Bunting was clearly thrown off by this and opted to move on to shake hands with the match officials before pulling a face to the crowd to show his disapproval.

The two did go on to shake hands after some time, but Wattimena appeared to have a strong word with Bunting and even put his finger in the face of the Bullet.

BUNTING COMPLETES THE COMEBACK!

Stephen Bunting enjoys a welcome return to winning ways in Wieze!

The Bullet reels off SIX straight legs from 3-0 down to defeat Jermaine Wattimena!

🔜 Nathan Aspinall v Ritchie Edhouse
📺 https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 | #ET1 pic.twitter.com/yzJeKSu1hB

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 8, 2025

The PDC Premier League star spoke about the exchange after the match, revealing how confused he was by the whole thing and the issue Wattimena had.

Bunting said: “Jermaine was telling me that I was doing something wrong. I’ve got a lot of respect for Jermaine, I didn’t expect that at the end of the game.

“I tried my best to win the game. I thought it was just a normal game, he picked up on something, I don’t know what it was.

“I’ll have a word with him backstage. There was no malice in my game, you’ve known me for many years now and I’m not that type of player to play mind games on people.”

Bunting went on to beat Daryl Gurney 6-2 in the RO16 before losing 6-5 to Ross Smith and the tournament was eventually won by, you guessed it, Luke Littler.

Other PDC Premier League stars competed in Belgium, with Luke Humphires and Michael van Gerwen both suffering early exits.

Gerwyn Price was also present, as the Welshman beat Gian van Veen and Damon Heta before losing to eventual finalist, Mike De Decker.