Stephen Bunting mentioned he has been left “damage” after his son was the sufferer of on-line abuse.

World quantity 4 Bunting, 40, was knocked out of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship on Saturday with a dramatic 4-3 loss to world quantity 63 James Hurrell.

Bunting’s son, 13, was in attendance at Alexandra Palace and was proven commonly on tv cameras passionately supporting his father throughout his dramatic loss in seven units.

Posting on X for the primary time since Saturday’s exit, Bunting mentioned the abuse his son has acquired has been “hurtful” for the entire household.

“Hello guys. Sorry I’ve had a number of days away from my socials however I simply wanted a small little bit of time after my sport to get better and relaxation,” Bunting posted.

“I really like my household a lot and so they give me large motivation to proceed this journey. I nonetheless consider I’ve so much to provide darts over the remainder of my profession and I need to make them perpetually proud.

“They see the unfavorable feedback and do their greatest to verify I do not see them – and even [my son] has had some hate from a number of the trolls on-line, which actually is hurtful for us as a household.

“[He] is without doubt one of the nicest youngsters you could possibly want to meet and I will be doing much more social stuff with him this coming yr.”

Stephen’s son commonly seems alongside his father at occasions on and off the oche, together with Bunting’s social media pages.

The Bullet’s defeat to Hurrell might price him an computerized qualification spot for the 2026 Premier League Darts marketing campaign, with Bunting prone to drop exterior the world’s prime 4 following his early match exit.