Luke Littler sends six-word message to Stephen Bunting after ending Premier League misery

has reminded of a prediction he made last week after the Bullet ended a horror run by winning night nine in Berlin. Bunting had not won a Prem match since 2015 and might have equalled the record for consecutive defeats had he lost his quarter-final against Nathan Aspinall.

The 39-year-old started the night at the bottom of the table with a dismal zero points. He was on a 12-match losing run in the competition and had defeats on all eight previous nights in this year's edition. Peter Wright's 13-game run of defeats between 2019 and 2020 was at risk of being equalled.

However, Bunting thumped Aspinall 6-2 in the quarter-final and was not done there. Another 6-2 victory over Luke Humphries set up a final against Gerwyn Price, which Bunting edged 6-5.

Littler pointed out that he recently predicted a similar outcome after offering Bunting some advice. "What did I say last week?" the world champion wrote on his Instagram story with a winking emoji over a picture of his rival celebrating.

It comes after Littler predicted that Bunting would go on a good run after grabbing his first Prem win. After whitewashing the 39-year-old 6-0 in Newcastle last week, the teenager said: "Obviously, Steve's struggling at the minute.

"Once he gets that first win, I'm sure he'll win quite a few in the Premier League. I think we're halfway through now. I think last week he said he's putting too much pressure on himself. Obviously, without a win in eight weeks.

"If I was Stephen now, I'd say you've just got to relax. You've just got to say, come on, just win that first game. And I'm sure once he gets that first win and gets that winning feeling, then he'll go on. Hopefully, I think he could win a night."

Bunting told Sky Sports after his triumph on night nine: "To be honest, after the first win, I was just so relieved to get off zero points. I have put a lot of work in behind the scenes. I have tried 110 per cent every week, without fail.

"This is such a special moment. There have been times during the Premier League where I've thought: 'Could I finish on zero points?' To get off the mark tonight and win a night, it's such a special feeling."