Luke Humphries has put Stephen Bunting on notice in New York after turning his US Darts Masters title defence into another test of his current finals streak.
The reigning champion opened at Madison Square Garden with a 6-1 win over Leonard Gates, while Bunting beat Alex Spellman 6-2 to set up their quarter-final on Friday night.
That result matters because Humphries framed his form in stark terms after the opener. The world number two said he had made eight straight finals across his last eight events, including the Premier League, and described himself as a “really tough player to beat” after restoring his winning rhythm.
Humphries Turns Defence Into Pressure Test
The official PDC event page has the US Darts Masters concluding with quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in one session, leaving no recovery room for a slow start.
Humphries’ route now runs through Bunting, with the winner placed into the lower-half semi-final against either Gian van Veen or Jonny Clayton. The upper half contains Luke Littler, Jim Long, Gerwyn Price and James Wade.
For Bunting, the problem is timing. He has already banked a first win on the Madison Square Garden stage, but Humphries arrives with the heavier trendline: defending champion, clean opening scoreline, and a confidence claim that narrows the psychological space before a best-of-11 quarter-final.
NineDartNews has already detailed how Bunting earned the Humphries quarter-final, while the wider US push has been sharpened by Luke Littler and Humphries driving Madison Square Garden interest.
US Darts Masters Quarter-Finals
- Luke Littler v Jim Long
- Gerwyn Price v James Wade
- Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
- Gian van Veen v Jonny Clayton
The Friday session is being played before a sell-out crowd of 5,000 fans, described by the PDPA as a US darts record.
