Honest Stephen Bunting admits he was ready to walk from darts after losing his love for the sport.

But The Bullet is now back firing and relishing his chance to scrap again with the elite. Bunting is back in the Premier League for the first time 10 years having had a spell where he lost form and dropped down the rankings The former BDO champ says he considered his darts at one point, but the hard work and dedication has paid off as he returns to face Rob Cross in Belfast.

Bunting said: ”Ten years is a long time, isn’t it? A lot of things have happened, obviously form. I don’t think any player continues to play well for ten years in a row. There’s peaks and troughs in everyone’s career, but to pick myself up from where I was really down in the doldrums, really thinking about walking away from the sport to where I am now, World No.5, the highest I’ve ever been ranked, just the way I’m playing, the confidence, the fanbase, everything about me is positive.

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“The family behind me, my management, which we’re going to extend our deal together, which is really important to me. Obviously brand partners and sponsors that have come on board as well, so it’s all a big deal to me and I’m just enjoying the ride.

“Obviously I did fall out of love when the form wasn’t good and things weren’t going right, but I’m really looking forward to this season. I wouldn’t say I always believed. Like I said, I was close to walking away from the sport.

“If I’d never played in the Premier League again, at least at the end of my career, I could have said I did give it a go and I had a go. But I think this time around, obviously the confidence is there.

“I’m number five in the world and I’m really just relishing each and every week that I’m going to be playing in the Premier League. I’m really looking forward to it and, honestly, I can’t tell you enough how much I’m looking forward to getting on that stage and getting the campaign started.”