Meet Luke Littler’s subsequent opponent Stephen Bunting: World Darts Championship crowd-favourite has a cartoon lookalike and a mini-me son… and followers cannot consider he is similar age as Cristiano Ronaldo!

It’s a scene that’s become synonymous with the World Darts Championship over the past few weeks.

David Guetta’s 2011 hit ‘Titanium’ being belted out by the Alexandra Palace crowd as Stephen ‘The Bullet’ Bunting conducts them as if he is front and centre of an orchestra.

It’s a walk-on song that has become iconic and has only added to the ‘Let’s Go Bunting Mental’ phrase coined by the 39-year-old Liverpudlian who is in the form of his life.

Bunting has been on fire at the World Championship – and fans are going ‘Bunting Mental’ – but his toughest test awaits when he takes on another fan favourite in Luke Littler in the semi-finals on Thursday in what promises to be an epic evening of darts.

When Bunting walks out tonight, it will cap the high watermark of a career that has seen him grow into one of, if not the most popular figure in the darting world.

The new world No 5 has swept aside four opponents en route to the final four, which included a thumping 5-2 victory over Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright on New Year’s Day.

Bunting is two months younger than Cristiano Ronaldo – something that has left fans baffled – and while he may not possess a similar physique to the Portuguese superstar, he certainly has a significant amount of talent on the oche.

The past 12 months have seen Bunting’s popularity and success only rise and rise, with the Liverpudlian lifting his first televised title with the Masters last year. 

He has put in impressive performances at several other tournaments too and is a strong contender to be included in this year’s Premier League line-up.

It comes after a relative slow burn of a career and gradual improvement since he joined the PDC Tour in 2014, with Bunting finally taking that elusive step at the Masters with a stunning victory over Michael van Gerwen in the final.

His growth on the oche has been accompanied by a rising cult status that has seen him achieve 2.6million likes and gain more than 235,000 followers on TikTok thanks to his hilarious and unique videos.

And, given Bunting’s statements ahead of the World Championships, it is clear to see that a strong performance at Alexandra Palace is no fluke.

‘I think probably the last 18 months (have been my best darts) and I think I am just more consistent in my game,’ he told Sky Sports at the start of last month.

‘The averages proved that and the double percentage and stuff. I am feeling relaxed on and off the oche.

‘I’ve not really set any targets, to be honest. Obviously, I’m playing really well. 

‘I’m not going to put pressure on myself and say I’m going to win it, but I’m playing the best darts of my life at the minute, and I definitely know I can. It’s about getting down there.’

Bunting’s popularity among fans has been accompanied by his walk-on song and performance, which have proven to be a must-see event. 

But it is his affable personality and family-centred nature too that has seen him receive even more love – and particularly his son.

Bunting has two sons with his wife Keila. Tobias, who is 12-years-old, and Theo, who was born in November.

Tobias has gained cult status himself given many fans have claimed he is effectively a mini-me of his dad.

He is usually present at every dart’s tournament and is known for his big celebrations when Bunting has success, while Titanium is his favourite song. 

Meanwhile, the support for the Bullet has been enhanced further by his cartoon lookalike status to Family Guy character Peter Griffin.

In fact, this is something that Bunting has played on. While his Titanium walk-on song is one of the things he is most known for – particularly given it has the lyrics ‘I’m bulletproof’ within it – he previously had a different song that he came out to.

This was ‘Surfin’ Bird’ by the Trashmen, a song long associated with Griffin, and the 39-year-old has always taken the comparisons in good spirits.

All of these factors have contributed to Bunting receiving significant support from the crowd, but it is his social media activity that has endeared him even further.

He regularly accompanies posts with #letsgobuntingmental and has seen his followers significantly grow into the hundreds of thousands.

Several of his posts are random but equally hilarious, with Bunting often lip syncing over songs or wearing filters, while he also posed in bed with his Masters trophy last year.

Speaking in October, he explained the background behind his rising fame on TikTok.

‘It was a bit of a joke at first,’ Bunting recalled. ‘Me and my son were messing around on the platform. He introduced me to the platform and he showed me how to do some stuff.

‘I think the first video was just me and him messing around, miming some stuff, and it just went from there. 

‘It’s nice to be able show the fans and the people who have supported me that I’m not just a darts player, I have actually got a personality as well. That was the most important thing at the start and I think the more I did it, the more fans I generated, the more followers I received.

‘What you see with me is what you get. There’s no showmanship. I try and entertain people with my walk-on but when I play I try and keep focused and try and win but away from the oche you see me telling jokes, singing in karaoke bars, or on TikTok doing daft things.’

Bunting continued: ‘I’m just a jovial type of person to be honest and that’s one way I can give something back to the fans so they can see that side of me.

‘If they bumped into me in Tesco or Asda, or at a football match, that’s the sort of side of me they’ll receive, not the very serious darts-playing side.’

Bunting’s recent launch of his YouTube channel has seen him gain more than 25,000 subscribers in a fortnight and the real authenticity of the 39-year-old is what sets him apart in the popularity stakes.

But, tonight’s encounter – that will see the winner guaranteed £200,000 in prize money – will be strange for both The Bullet and Littler, who are used to receiving unwavering support on stage.

In fact, they are good friends despite their 22-year age gap, living just 20 minutes away in the north west, while they have played each other in local leagues over the years, with one photo of the pair going viral over the past 24 hours.

Littler’s average is almost five points higher than Bunting’s at the tournament, yet the 17-year-old is still wary of the challenge that the Liverpudlian will pose.

‘They [the crowd] have been good for me tonight,’ he said after beating Nathan Aspinall on Wednesday. ‘They’ve also been good to Stephen.

‘They can take their pick and support whoever they want to. I can see quite a few Nuke shirts in here, so I think I’ve got on the better!’ 

If Bunting does complete the spectacular and reach the final, his popularity is only likely to soar and it would cap a remarkable and heartwarming turnaround from his struggles in previous years.  

‘I was ready for walking away,’ he said after lifting the Masters in February. ‘It was awful, I was walking into events and I felt like everyone was laughing at me.

‘I felt like no matter what I was doing everything was going wrong. I was taking it out on my family and locking myself away. I was depressed, it was an awful place to be.

‘Thankfully the psychologist and hypnotist over the last few years have helped. He taught me how to think not just about darts, there’s other things than darts, your family, your home life.

‘I know they say in Peter Pan you think about happy stuff and you can fly but it is the same sort of logic in darts. If you turn up and are feeling happy and good then you can win anything.’