A crowded English theatre erupts as David Guetta’s 2011 hit “Titanium” shatters the air. A walkway splits the boisterous audience and casts all attention onto the Professional Darts Corporation’s fifth-ranked player in the world, 39-year-old Stephen “The Bullet” Bunting, who makes his way to the stage amid the flood of excitement. Now resting on his platform, Bunting turns to the fans and commands them to sing with him, filling the venue with his presence and melody.
Videos of this scene, which took place during the 2024 Betfred World Matchplay, have exploded on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, expanding the sport’s popularity far past its humble beginnings as an English pub game. Early in its history, darts — as the PDC states on its website — was not nearly as competitive as their modern counterpart; however, the growing popularity of brewery leagues after World War I gave reason for the creation of a national darts association.
The sport flourished in its home country, with the PDC estimating at least 280,000 people entering the 1938-39 World Competition. The game gained international notoriety by the end of World War II, when darts managed to “cross the pond” after American soldiers returned home from their British stations. This cultural exchange resulted in darts becoming what it now is to many Americans: something to be aware of, but not something worth paying attention to.
After World War II, it seemed like darts was bound for the same irrelevance in Britain after the collapse of the original national darts association. This resulted in the sport losing its competitive reputation but remaining popular as a casual game. However, darts bloomed once more when televised matches flew through the 1960s airways, sparking a new age of traction for the field.
As competition grew, the roster of notable players did too. Phil “The Power” Taylor, who many consider to be the greatest darts player of all time, took fierce command of the platform. Taylor won 236 total titles — 16 of which are World championships — in the span of his over 30-year career. Since Taylor’s professional retirement in 2018, followed by his complete withdrawal from the sport in 2024, new athletes have thrown their way into public acclaim.
Bunting is one of these athletes who is taking the virtual world by storm with his enthusiastic pre-match presentation and his undeniable talent. Following the same wave of online praise is the PDC’s second-ranked player in the world, 18-year-old Luke “The Nuke” Littler, who has wowed the darts fandom with his exhilarating skill at such a young age while drawing attention from those outside the bubble with his mature look.
Surely, there is much to be said about the online ridicule aimed at the appearances of professional darts players. These athletes, Bunting and Littler, in particular, are not as clean cut or muscular as the players in other professional sports, and people on the internet have made sure to point this out. Nevertheless, the passionate fans of darts far outshine the bitter folks who tease its champions, and the comments will never trample the successes of the PDC’s stars. One such success of Littler’s was being named the BBC’s 2024 Young Sports Personality of the Year, earning the award for his accomplishments as a player and for helping popularize the sport to new heights.
Many will try to write off the accomplishments of this growing game as nothing more than a hobby that people take too seriously, but all signs point otherwise. The matches held by today’s titans are enjoyed for their vibrant personality, colorful showmanship, and astonishing intensity. The key to the PDC’s success is to continue doing what they are already doing: foster a worldwide community that is willing to sing every player’s walkout song and then focus on the following match. If anything, they’re aiming in the right direction — pun intended.