Stephen Bunting has disclosed that his 13-year-old son, Toby, has been subjected to online abuse following the darts player's exit from the PDC World Championship. Bunting, the fourth seed, was defeated by James Hurrell in the third round at Alexandra Palace.
In a post on X, the 40-year-old said his family has been hurt by social media trolling. “Hi guys, sorry I’ve had a few days away from my socials, but I just needed a small bit of time after my game to recover and rest,” he wrote.
“I love my family so much and they give me massive motivation to continue this journey. I still believe I have a lot to give darts over the rest of my career and I want to make them forever proud.”
Bunting added: “They see the negative comments and do their best to make sure I don’t see them and even Toby has had some hate from some of the trolls online which really is hurtful for us as a family. Toby is one of the nicest kids you could wish to meet and I’ll be doing a lot more social stuff with him this coming year.”
