STEPHEN BUNTING has revealed how a hypnotist has helped him improve on the oche.
The Bullet, 39, marched on in the World Darts Championships before Christmas with a 3-1 win over Kai Gotthardt.
He will now face Madars Razma in the third round as the world No8 looks to continue his fine form.
Bunting won The Masters in 2024 and has taken his game to a new level – in part thanks to employing a hypnotist.
He discussed the practice after being asked about former world champion Michael Smith – who lost to Kevin Doets in the second round at Ally Pally.
Bunting claims his hypnotist did reach out to Smith but Bully Boy rejected the offer.
But for Bunting it has worked wonders in a number of ways and he has opened up about the benefits of the unorthodox technique on his darts.
He said: “You’re set in your own ways, aren’t you? Yeah, I think my hypnotherapist did reach out to him and his family probably last year.
“I don’t know what happened there, but it didn’t happen and it’s not my position to speculate.
“All I can say is that I’m really happy with my hypnotist. I think he’s doing fantastic for me with things like diet, sleep and looking for energy when you’re playing.
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“Each player is different, so I wouldn’t like to tell certain players, ‘This is what you need to do’ but you learn off the best. That’s my opinion.
“People don’t really understand what a hypnotist is about – he doesn’t make you bark like a dog or dangle a watch in front of your eyes until you fall asleep.
“He puts you under for 25 to 30 minutes and it’s the equivalent of four hours’ sleep.
“It just focuses you – 95 per cent of your brain is negative, like a bucket that fills up with negative thoughts and all the stress of your everyday life, but the sleep movement takes down the level of this bucket, releases the stress and you can play with more freedom.”
Bunting won the BDO world title in 2014 but has never reached the final at the PDC event.
His best run came in 2021 when he lost 6-4 to Gerwyn Price in the last four.
If he beats Razma, Bunting will face Damon Heta or Luke Woodhouse for a place in the quarter-finals.
