Why Stephen Bunting Has Suddenly Become Hated

Stephen Bunting’s story is one of the wildest character arcs in modern darts. He went from BDO World Champion to years of PDC struggle… fought through confidence and mental battles… rebuilt his game… then exploded into a viral fan-favorite known as “The People’s Champion.” Crowds sang his walk-on. TikTok and YouTube turned him into a darts celebrity. 2025 became his best year on tour. And then, in a single tournament, the crowd turned. After a first-round win at the World Championship, Bunting made one confident comment — “I’m the People’s Champion” — and the internet erupted. Social media that once built his brand became a weapon. Days later, he broke down in tears over the abuse… then suffered a shock defeat on the biggest stage… and the backlash got even worse, spilling over onto his family. This video breaks down: 🎯 Bunting’s rise from Liverpool pubs to BDO dominance 🏆 His PDC struggles, mental battles, and the rebuild that changed everything 📈 The 2024 Masters breakthrough and the 2025 peak season 📱 How social media fame helped… then destroyed his reputation 😳 The “People’s Champion” quote and why it triggered a backlash 💥 The World Championship upset that made the criticism explode 🧠 What this says about modern fan culture and online toxicity This isn’t just a darts story — it’s a cautionary tale about modern fame, fragile public perception, and how fast the crowd can turn. RIGHT NOTICE: The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a "fair use" of copyrighted content. Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: "Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." This video and our YouTube channel, in general, may contain certain copyrighted works that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyright holder(s), but which we believe in good faith are protected by federal law and the fair use doctrine for one or more of the reasons noted above. Fair Dealing: Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988 (UK) section 30 states "Fair dealing" with a work for the purposes of criticism or review, of that or another work, does not infringe any copyright in the work provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement. Copyright in a work is not infringed by the use of a quotation from the work (whether for criticism or review or otherwise).----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: [email protected]