The Bullet Fires Again: Bunting Defeats Cross to Claim 2025 Nordic Darts Masters Crown
- Darts Central
- Jun 8
- 7 min read
Stephen Bunting claimed his second World Series title of the season, and of his career, with victory at the 2025 Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen, defeating fellow PL star Rob Cross in the final at the Forum.
‘The Bullet’ secured his seventh PDC title since switching from the BDO in 2014, and now sits top of the 2025 World Series rankings with two wins from three events.
Across two days of action, the Danish crowd was treated to memorable moments and high-quality performances as the Nordic Darts Masters once again delivered.
Here’s how the tournament unfolded in Copenhagen.
Last 16 – A Couple of Scares, but All Eight PDC Elite Reach Final Day
Stephen Bunting, Luke Littler, Chris Dobey, and Rob Cross all booked their places in the quarter-finals with routine wins over Swedish opposition. Bunting defeated Oskar Lukasiak, Littler saw off Viktor Tingström, Dobey eased past Jeffrey de Graaf, and Cross overcame Andreas Harrysson. Despite some spirited efforts, the Swedes were unable to raise their game to truly threaten the visiting elite stars.
Nathan Aspinall averaged just 90.18 but still whitewashed Benjamin Reus 6-0, the Dane’s fourth consecutive first-round whitewash in this tournament, an unwanted and unfortunate record.
Luke Humphries and Jonny Clayton both survived last-leg deciders to scrape through. World No.1 Humphries let a 5-2 lead slip against Madars Razma before closing out a nervy 6-5 win. Clayton, meanwhile, had to survive two match darts against the experienced Darius Labanauskas before crawling over the line with an 18-dart hold in the decider.
The standout performance of the round came from Gerwyn Price. ‘The Iceman’ delivered the only ton-plus average of the first round, a 100.43 in a 6-3 win over Cor Dekker. Price raced into a 5-0 lead with an average north of 105, and while Dekker battled back with three straight legs, Price shut the door in style with a clinical 11-dart leg.
Quarter-Finals – Price Breaks Record as Cross Delivers Whitewash
Stephen Bunting came from 3-1 down to storm past Jonny Clayton 6-3 in the opening quarter-final. After a strong start from Clayton, his level dipped while Bunting found his rhythm and reeled off five straight legs to book his place in the last four.
Nathan Aspinall ended his hoodoo against Luke Littler, claiming just his second win in 16 meetings with the World Champion. It was a composed, clinical display from ‘The Asp’, who averaged 99.58 and landed 60% of his doubles to seal a 6-3 victory, a result that was met with a visible release of emotion at the finish.
On the other side of the draw, Rob Cross delivered a whitewash win over Chris Dobey. ‘Voltage’ averaged 93.94 and took full advantage of a below-par showing from Dobey, who never settled and had just four darts at a double. Cross impressed with some superb combination finishing, including checkouts of 101 and two 129s in a ruthless performance.
The final quarter-final belonged to Gerwyn Price, who once again produced the performance of the round. The Welshman averaged a blistering 108.26, a new tournament record, to see off World No.1 Luke Humphries 6-3 and keep his title defence on track.
Semi-Finals – Bunting Survives Fightback as Cross Stuns Price
Stephen Bunting 7-5 Nathan Aspinall
Stephen Bunting raced into a commanding 5–0 lead, punishing early missed doubles from Nathan Aspinall, who squandered four darts to hold in the opener and another in leg two. The World Matchplay champion finally got on the board before the break, landing a superb 12-dart break to trail 5–1.
Bunting hit back immediately with a 13-dart break of his own to move within one of victory at 6–1, but then the drama began. He missed three match darts for a 7–1 win, allowing Aspinall to snatch the leg and begin a spirited comeback. The deficit narrowed to 6–5 as Aspinall reeled off three more legs, riding the momentum while Bunting’s composure began to waver.
In a nerve-wracking 12th leg, Bunting produced heavy scoring to leave 41 after nine darts but five more missed match darts followed. Aspinall caught up and sat on the same finish after 15 darts, but finally, on his 10th dart to win the match, Bunting found double four to scrape over the line and seal his spot in the final.
Rob Cross 7-4 Gerwyn Price
Rob Cross shocked defending champion Gerwyn Price with a composed and clinical display to reach the final. The pair were evenly matched early on, locked at 2–2 after four legs. Cross landed a statement 124 finish on the bull in the second leg, moments after Price had left 50 following just nine darts.
A key turning point came in the fifth leg when Price missed two darts at double to hold, and Cross capitalised to break. He then held throw to lead 4–2 at the interval.
After the break, the pair exchanged routine holds, with Price unable to apply enough pressure to regain the break. Cross stayed solid on throw, nailing key checkouts to keep ‘The Iceman’ at bay and edge 6–4 in front.
In the 11th leg, Price missed tops to reduce the deficit to one, and Cross pounced again, coolly taking out 56 in three darts to wrap up a 7–4 victory and book his place in the Nordic Darts Masters final.
The Final – Brilliant Bunting Secures Second World Series Title
The final in Copenhagen featured the top two seeds going head-to-head, with both Stephen Bunting and Rob Cross continuing their impressive form on this year’s World Series circuit. While Bunting had posted far more 180s across the weekend, Cross had edged him in checkout percentage heading into the final, setting up an intriguing contrast in styles.
Pre-Final Tournament Stats
Finalist | Average | 180s | Checkout % |
Bunting | 94.99 | 14 | 40% |
Cross | 95.77 | 4 | 44% |
Match Recap
The opening six legs went with throw in fairly routine fashion, with the only chance at a break coming in leg five when Bunting narrowly missed double seven. That left the match finely poised at 3–3 heading into the interval.
Immediately after the break, ‘The Bullet’ made his move, breaking in 15 darts to punish three missed darts at double from Cross for a 4–3 lead. Bunting then landed a clutch 104 checkout to consolidate the break and open up a 5–3 cushion after Cross narrowly missed the bull to break back.
The momentum was firmly with Bunting now, who rattled in a 13-dart break followed by a 16-dart hold, denying Cross a single dart at a double in either leg, to win five legs on the spin and move 7–3 ahead. Cross stopped the rot with a tidy 14-dart hold for 7–4, but the comeback never truly looked on.
Bunting came close to sealing the title in sensational style with a 170 finish, just missing the bullseye, but made no mistake on his next visit, cleaning up 25 in two darts to seal an 8–4 victory and his second World Series crown of the season.
Final Match Stats:
Finalist | Average | 180s | Checkout % |
Bunting | 97.49 | 4 | 42.11% (8/19) |
Cross | 98.04 | 2 | 44.44% (4/9) |
Closing Thoughts:
Stephen Bunting delivered a composed and consistent display throughout the weekend, overcoming a string of high-calibre opponents to secure his second World Series title. The win will provide a timely boost of confidence following a difficult Premier League campaign that saw him finish bottom of the table on his return to the competition.
Rob Cross also impressed once again on the World Series stage. While he fell short in the final, ‘Voltage’ can take plenty of encouragement from another deep run and a series of clinical performances across the two days.
Elsewhere, Nathan Aspinall finally halted his losing streak against Luke Littler, securing just his second win in 16 meetings with the World Champion. Gerwyn Price lit up the quarter-finals with a blistering 108.26 average, the highest ever at the Nordic Darts Masters in a commanding win over World No.1 Luke Humphries, underlining his enduring quality on the big stage.
None of the Nordic & Baltic representatives managed to overcome their elite PDC opponents in the opening round, though both Madars Razma and Darius Labanauskas pushed their seeded rivals to deciding legs in front of a supportive home crowd.
That didn’t dampen what was another fantastic staging of the Nordic Darts Masters, with the Copenhagen crowd once again treated to high-quality drama and world-class darts across the weekend.
The World Series of Darts resumes in three weeks’ time as the action heads stateside for the US Darts Masters at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York — taking place on June 27–28.
🎙️ Post-Final Reaction:
Stephen Bunting to PDC.tv:
“The way I’ve been playing, I was wondering whether I’d ever win a title again.
I’m really proud of myself over the last few days. I’ve put the effort in, played some great darts, and I believe I’m a deserved winner.
When you play in front of a crowd like this, you don’t want to let them down.
I saw a lot of Bunting fans out there, and they really got me through. It was a privilege to play in front of them, and hopefully I can maintain this form for the rest of the season.”
Rob Cross to PDC.tv:
“It wasn’t meant to be for me — I probably ran out of steam in the end.
Credit to Stephen, he was absolutely brilliant, and I just didn’t have it in the final.
For me, I need to keep fighting. I wanted to win so badly here, but the intensity got to me and I just didn’t perform.”
Upcoming Tournaments:
World Cup of Darts:
June 12th-June 15th, at Eissporthalle, Frankfurt (Live on Sky Sports)
Players Championship 17
June 17th at Mattioli Arena, Leicester (Live on PDC.tv)
Players Championship 18
June 18th at Mattioli Arena, Leicester (Live on PDC.tv)
Players Championship 19
June 19th at Mattioli Arena, Leicester (Live on PDC.tv)
Comments