New Masters champion Stephen Bunting has opened up on his battles with mental health and revealed how a hypnotist has helped turn his career around.
The 38-year-old won his first televised PDC major title on Sunday when he outclassed Michael van Gerwen in the final in Milton Keynes just a few years after nearly walking away from the game.
Bunting, who is a former BDO world champion, made the switch to the PDC circuit a decade ago and threatened to make waves before he hit a dip that left him depressed.
The Liverpudlian said he felt like a laughing stock and turned to a hypnotist and sports psychologist to get over his demons.
“I was ready for walking away,” he said. “It was awful, I was walking into events and I felt like everyone was laughing at me.
“I felt like no matter what I was doing everything was going wrong. I was taking it out on my family and locking myself away.
“I was depressed, it was an awful place to be. Thankfully the psychologist and hypnotist over the last few years have helped.
“I was against it at first but I thought I needed to do something and that was probably the last step that I could take and I went.
“He taught me how to think not just about darts, there’s other things than darts, your family, your home life.
“I know they say in Peter Pan you think about happy stuff and you can fly but it is the same sort of logic in darts. If you turn up and are feeling happy and good then you can win anything.
“The hypnotist helped me with my sleep. That’s the biggest thing for me, a one-hour session with a hypnotist is a four-hour REM state so it helps you to focus, it helps you look at all the positives and stop looking at the negatives.
“Your mind is 95 per cent negative so sometimes every one of us will be in the negative side of the brain without even knowing it.
“I don’t think there are many players who have dipped into that side so to have that extra one or two per cent that helps. As you can see I am a champion now, so I’m just happy.”
Bunting, who channelled his inner Lionel Messi by sleeping alongside his trophy on Sunday night, has been waiting a long time to get his hands on some silverware.
But he said he would consider giving it back if it meant Jurgen Klopp decided to stay at his beloved Liverpool.
“I might give my trophy, but I wouldn’t give my title back,” he quipped.
“I actually felt like I lost a family member. I was away in Ireland when I heard the news and I was absolutely devastated. I don’t think there is a manager in the world that could take his place.
“Such a fantastic manager, what he has done for the club, a special, special man. He will be sorely missed by everyone at Liverpool. Even the Premier League will miss him.
“I am going to go to the cup final, I have got a ticket for the last game of the season, so I will be able to pay my respects and see him off. It is emotional for any Liverpool fan.”
Verstappen pays tribute to Senna after record-equalling pole at Imola
Max Verstappen paid tribute to Ayrton Senna after tying the Brazilian's record by taking pole position at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The Drivers' Championship leader equalled Senna's record of eight successive poles set across the 1988 and 1989 seasons, as he seeks his fifth race win of the season.
Verstappen struggled on Friday, finishing seventh on the timesheets after exchanging angry radio messages with his team and several off-track excursions, but bounced back 24 hours later with a best time of 1:14.746 in the final qualification session for Sunday’s race.
And the Red Bull driver felt it was fitting to match Senna's achievement on the 30th anniversary of his death at Imola.
"Of course, it’s a great start to the year, but also very special," he said. "It's 30 years since he passed away at this track, so I'm very pleased to get pole here.
"In a way, it's a nice memory to him. He was an incredible F1 driver, especially in qualifying laps as well.
"[It has been] a really difficult weekend so far, even this morning [in final practice]. I'm incredibly happy to be on pole here. I didn't expect that.
"We made some final changes [to the car set-up] before qualifying, and they seemed to make it feel a bit better, so I could push a bit harder."
Jude Bellingham targets trophy treble after Laureus breakthrough award
Jude Bellingham has targeted a trophy treble on the pitch after picking up silverware at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid.
Bellingham won the World Breakthrough of the Year prize after a stunning start to life at Real Madrid.
The 20-year-old has scored 21 goals since his summer move from Borussia Dortmund, his latest effort being a stunning winner in Sunday’s El Clasico against Barcelona.
Bellingham now hopes to end the season with a LaLiga and Champions League double at Real before heading to Euro 2024 in Germany where England are among the favourites to win the trophy.
Asked what would mean success, Bellingham said: “I think just more trophies really.
“We’re still in with a chance of two with Madrid and obviously the Euros with England. So I think success would be all three.
“It’s been a bit of a crazy week, really. I’m so tired, to be honest. So excuse me if I look it.
“But I’m really proud to win this award and hopefully keep making more memories with Real Madrid and with England in the future.”
Novak Djokovic was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record-equalling fifth time after winning the Australian Open, French Open and US Open to lead the way with 24 grand slam men’s singles titles.
“I am incredibly honoured to have won my fifth Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award,” said Djokovic.
“I think back to 2012, when I won it for the first time as a 24-year-old. I am very proud to be here 12 years later, reflecting on a year that brought me and my fans a lot of excitement and success.
“It was thrilling to return to Australia last January and win my 10th title. It is a tournament that is so dear to my heart and set me up for an incredible 12 months.
“I could not have achieved so much success without an incredible team behind me, and inspirational rivals who have always pushed me to be the best version of myself.”
Aitana Bonmati took to the stage twice to collect two awards – the first footballer to win the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year trophy, and also represent the Spain team which won the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
She said: “It is humbling to see the list of previous winners of this award.
“From Serena Williams to Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, Naomi Osaka and last year’s winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, they are all incredible athletes who have not only excelled in their chosen sports, but been incredible role models for younger generations of young women and girls.
“As the first women’s team to win the Laureus, we are proud of our status as pioneers and as a group we are as committed to equality and representation as we are to what we do on the football pitch.”
American gymnast Biles, a three-time winner of Sportswoman of the Year, won the World Comeback of the Year Award.
Biles collected four gold medals at the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, her first global event since leaving the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health issues and entering a near two-year break from the sport she had dominated.
Other award winners were Rafael Nadal (Sport for Good), Diede de Groot (World Sportsperson of the Year with a disability) and Arisa Trew (World Action Sportsperson of the Year).
:: The 25th Laureus World Sports Awards took place on Monday 22 April in Madrid, celebrating the leading names in sport from across the globe. To find out more, visit www.laureus.com.
Mark Selby ponders walking away from snooker after ‘pathetic’ Crucible loss
Mark Selby has vowed to consider retirement after crashing out of the World Snooker Championship in a “pathetic” 10-6 defeat to qualifier Joe O’Connor.
The four-time former champion finished a dismal season by his own standards on a low note as he failed to claw back a 7-2 overnight deficit against the only debutant in this year’s draw.
Having first questioned his future after a Tour Championship defeat to Gary Wilson earlier this month, Selby admitted something will have to change if he is to continue on the tour next season.
Selby, who has reached a solitary ranking final this season, said: “I will take a long time to think about it over the summer. Away from snooker I’m happy, then when I come to snooker it’s the opposite. It was pathetic from start to finish.”
O’Connor, who grew up idolising Selby and cheered him to three of those previous successes, held his nerve as his opponent – aided by breaks of 112 and 91 – slowly reduced the deficit to 8-5 at the mid-session interval.
Selby threatened to move within two frames when he went 39 points up in the 15th but he left himself too much to do and O’Connor built on a nerveless red down the rail to complete the biggest win of his career.
It marked the first time since 2018 that Selby has lost in the first round, and prompted ‘The Jester from Leicester’ to concede he will not be able to continue without some serious help.
He told the BBC: “I’ll sit down with (my wife) Vicky and see what the options are.
“Obviously it will be a big decision but if I do carry on playing I need help, probably on the mental side of it a little bit more just to go out there and enjoy the game.
“That’s all I want to do, go out there and enjoy it and for me, it’s always sort of life or death; I’ve always been that kind of character, putting too much pressure on myself and trying too hard.”
Shaun Murphy avoided the same fate as he turned a 6-3 overnight advantage into a comfortable 10-5 win over China’s Lyu Haotian.
Murphy punished Lyu from 38 points behind to pinch the opening frame, and was never in danger of surrendering his advantage in the tie, which he eventually polished off with a break of 81.
The 2005 champion told the BBC: “It’s such a relief, it’s so rewarding and pleasing, I haven’t won a match here for a few seasons. I’m delighted to have got that win and (be) in the second round of the tournament.”
Triple world champion Mark Williams edged in front of last year’s surprise semi-finalist Si Jiahui in a high-quality opening session of their first round match.
Williams started the match with a brilliant 142 clearance but Si hit back, and the Welshman had to dig deep to win the final two frames of the session to establish a 5-4 lead ahead of Tuesday’s conclusion.
Stuart Bingham stormed into an impressive three-frame lead to give him a healthy advantage at the end of the first session, leading Gary Wilson 6-3.
Bingham started in tremendous fashion, falling just two points short of an opening-frame century break and he rattled off the next three before Wilson made his mark on the scoreboard.
Bingham responded with a 117 break to go 5-1 up and put daylight between himself and his opponent, who many expected to challenge for the title.
Staring down the barrel of an early exit, Wilson’s session-high 60 break came in the final frame but a missed black helped Bingham swoop and almost clear the table until he himself missed a routine black, which his opponent sunk to reduce the deficit to three.
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