Stephen Bunting Dumped Out of Nordic Darts Masters by Viktor Tingstrom
Stephen Bunting’s bid to make Nordic Darts Masters history is over before the tournament has properly opened up, after the defending champion was beaten 6-5 by Sweden’s Viktor Tingstrom in Friday’s first round in Copenhagen.
The result is the headline-grabber from the opening night of the 2026 Mr Vegas Nordic Darts Masters at Forum Copenhagen, staged across June 5-6 as the third World Series of Darts event of the year after stops in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Bunting arrived with a genuine opportunity in front of him too. Before the event, Sky Sports reported that he had spoken about how special it would be to become the first player to retain the Nordic title, adding that it was one of the nicest trophies to win.
Instead, his defence lasted just one match. According to the DartsNews results table, updated at 21:17 on Friday 5 June, Tingstrom edged through 6-5 despite averaging 83.47 to Bunting’s 87.25. That tells its own story. Bunting was not at his fluent best, but this was still a close contest, and Tingstrom did enough in the key moments to knock out the reigning champion.
A sharp early blow to the defending champion
Bunting came into Copenhagen carrying the status of defending champion after beating Rob Cross 8-4 in the 2025 final, so an opening-round exit inevitably changes the shape of the weekend. In a World Series field where established PDC names are expected to control the latter stages, any first-round loss by a title holder will be noticed, and this one certainly will be.
That is especially true because the official PDC event preview had again placed Bunting among the leading PDC representatives, alongside Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, James Wade and Gian van Veen. On paper, he was one of the players expected to still be around deep into Saturday. Instead, Tingstrom has taken that slot and claimed one of the standout results of the evening.
There is no need to overcomplicate it beyond the facts available. The averages suggest neither player produced a blockbuster display, but in short-format World Series matches that often matters less than simply getting over the line. Tingstrom did exactly that, and Bunting did not.
Other round-one results underline the contrast
Elsewhere on the DartsNews table, Jonny Clayton was emphatic in a 6-0 win over Andreas Harrysson, posting a 104.86 average. Gerwyn Price also moved through, although he had to work much harder in a 6-5 victory over Darius Labanauskas while averaging 104.03. Michael van Gerwen advanced with a 6-2 win against Oskar Lukasiak, recording an 88.76 average.
Those results only sharpen the focus on Bunting’s exit. While other seeded or high-profile PDC names found a way through, even in tighter matches, the reigning champion was the one who fell short. It does not need dressing up as anything more dramatic than that, but it is undeniably one of the talking points from opening night in Denmark.
Sky Sports later confirmed the full quarter-final picture, with Luke Littler moving through to face James Wade, Luke Humphries advancing after averaging more than 109, and Michael van Gerwen also progressing. That gives Saturday’s finals night a familiar elite core, but Tingstrom’s win over Bunting remains the result that cut through most sharply from the opening round.
What the result means for the weekend
For fans, the immediate significance is simple: the defending champion is gone, and the draw has opened up at least a little. Bunting had spoken positively beforehand about the chance to retain the title, but that ambition now belongs to history rather than this weekend’s bracket.
Tingstrom, meanwhile, has earned the kind of World Series result that can quickly become a reference point, especially against an opponent of Bunting’s standing. It is a notable first-round win, and one that deserves to be treated on its own terms rather than only as Bunting’s failure.
Suggested internal link targets: Luke Littler Returns at Nordic Darts Masters; 2026 World Series of Darts schedule.
Sources and links: DartsNews Nordic Darts Masters results page; Sky Sports Nordic Darts Masters preview; PDC Nordic Darts Masters field announcement.