Gian van Veen climbed to second in the 2026 Premier League Darts standings after reaching his third final in four weeks in Belfast on February 26, only to fall 6-2 to a resurgent Stephen Bunting.
The Dutch debutant sits on nine points, trailing only league leader Jonny Clayton on 11. His run to the Belfast final included a 6-2 quarter-final win over home favourite Josh Rock and a tight 6-5 semi-final victory against former world champion Gerwyn Price.
Van Veen again faced frustration in the final as he could not match Bunting, who had averaged over 106 in his earlier rounds, and went down in straight-forward fashion.
“People know that I keep losing finals lately,” Van Veen said. “I hoped it was a one-off, but now it’s becoming a pattern and you don’t want that. You just need to win one. Then hopefully it’s done.”
He acknowledged the psychological shift that happens on the big stage. “The quarter-final was fine, the semi-final was good and then you think in the final: now it has to happen, and then it’s again, feels to me, dramatic.”
Van Veen’s trajectory still points towards a play-off spot at the O2 Arena in May. “If you keep doing this, you’ll be in the O2 Arena soon enough,” he said, “but it’s about time I win a final.”
Bunting’s breakthrough
Bunting won in Belfast after a pointless opening three weeks. The 40-year-old had faced criticism over his inclusion in the field and stepped away from social media to refocus.
He recorded a 106.63 average in a 6-4 quarter-final win over defending champion Luke Humphries, then whitewashed Clayton 6-0 in the semi-finals before beating Van Veen in the final to pocket £10,000 and five league points.
“Losing seven or eight on the bounce last year really helped me, gave me a lot of experience in this field,” Bunting said. “This ranks up as one of the best wins of my career.”
Rock lands nine-darter but loses again
Josh Rock threw the first nine-darter of the 2026 Premier League season during his quarter-final against Van Veen. It came at 5-1 down, and Rock could not prevent a 6-2 defeat, his fourth consecutive loss by that scoreline.
“My body is in overdrive. I’m shaking like a leaf,” Rock said. “Throwing a nine-darter in front of the home crowd is a dream come true.”
Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle was less forgiving about Rock’s broader form. “It was incredible, but while it is great for him, he needs and wants to play miles better than that,” Mardle said.
Rock’s checkout percentage through four weeks stands at 29.63%, and his average of 92.33 falls well short of the level needed to compete consistently at this standard.
Night 5 moves to Cardiff, where Van Veen faces Clayton in the quarter-finals.
