Stephen Bunting underlined his down-to-earth nature by spending his £100,000 winnings in a rather modest way. The Bullet, set to face James Hurrell in the third round of the World Championship on Saturday night, made it to the semi-finals last year.

Despite losing 6-1 to Luke Littler, who went on to defeat Michael van Gerwen and become the youngest world champion ever, he could take solace in the six-figure sum he earned. Avoiding the temptation to splurge on luxury items or flashy cars, Bunting instead invested in a caravan at a holiday park in north Wales and spruced up his garden. The father of two told Spin Bet: "Part of my money went on the garden and then we've also just bought a caravan in a Haven site in north Wales.

"It's a lovely getaway from the house and from playing darts to spend some time with my family. Haven sites are always great for the kids, so there is plenty to do there.

"And it isn't too far away, with it being an hour-and-a-half from down the road. I can be in my own luxury caravan out the way and loving life.

"After the Worlds, I didn't get much time off because I came back on the day of the final, got home and had not seen the baby for a week and I had her in my arms. My manager then rang me and said I was going to Germany for a pro-am gala, so I wasn't at home too much to spend any money."

At the Worlds this year, Bunting progressed to the last 32 with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nitin Kumar. Following the game, he was close to tears while addressing online backlash he'd encountered after describing himself as the "people's champion" in the wake of his opening-round triumph against Sebastian Bialecki.

He said: "I've had some stick over social media. I made a comment in the media saying I was the people's champion. That was literally a comment from what Sky have said, what PDC have said. It wasn't me saying I'm the people's champion."

He added: "I've had quite a few emails as well, but I need to rise above that. People online are fickle. Listen, you see the crowd in there tonight, they're proper darts fans. They know what I'm about."