Darts has had some true legends over the years.
Eric Bristow was a hero for many fans throughout the 1980s, while Keith Deller shocked the world in 1983 when he won the World Darts Championship as a qualifier.
Of course though, the biggest legend in darts history is Phil Taylor.
Phil Taylor is Luke Littler’s idol, and, somehow, Taylor remains an underrated legend of the game despite being a 16-time world champion.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Stephen Bunting was asked to name who his darting idol was growing up, and, predictably, The Bullet named Taylor as his idol.
Stephen Bunting idolised Phil Taylor
Bunting was asked to name his darting idol.
The Masters champion didn’t hesitate when picking Taylor as his hero growing up, claiming that he was a born winner who is still spoken about to this day for what he achieved in the game.
“Who is your idol?” Bunting was asked.
“My idol when I was growing up was Phil Taylor. What he did for the game, 16-time World Champion, such a born winner and people still talk about his career and his achievements today. He was definitely the one I looked up to as a young kid,” Bunting said.
Stephen Bunting record vs Phil Taylor
They say never meet your heroes, but Bunting did more than that, he played against Taylor on numerous occasions.
Indeed, when Bunting made his switch to the PDC in 2014, Taylor was still at the top of his game. In fact, he’d go on to reach the World Championship finals that very year.
All in all, Bunting faced Taylor 11 times in his career, and unfortunately for Bunting, the results were as one-sided as most players’ records against Taylor.
| Stephen Bunting record vs Phil Taylor | |
| Wins | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Losses | 9 |
| Legs won | 32 |
| Legs lost | 81 |
The Power is perhaps the best player of all-time, and Bunting can tell you that first-hand.
Bunting did actually beat Taylor in their only meeting in a TV-ranked major in the 2014 European Championship where Bunting ran out the 10-9 winner.
That was a rare slip for Taylor in 2014, a year in which he would win the Grand Slam and the World Matchplay, but, more often than not, Taylor would get the better of Bunting.