Bunting stunned by Smith in New Zealand Darts Masters upset

Stephen Bunting was the highest-profile casualty on day one of the New Zealand Darts Masters as he was dumped out of the last 16 by Raymond Smith in Auckland.Smith reeled off five unanswered legs en route to a 6-2 victory over third seed Bunting, averaging 99.81 and converting 86 per cent of his attempts at a double and notably sealing victory with a 124 checkout on the bullseye. "It feels pretty awesome," Smith said. "Eight years since I last played on a PDC stage, so I'm pretty stoked. Stream darts and more with NOWWhen is darts live on Sky Sports?Listen to the Love the Darts podcast"I think I played really well. What we're doing in the ADA, DPNZ and ANZ Premier League is setting us up for this sort of stuff. What the PDC is investing in the Oceanic region is showing in the results."Smith's reward for beating Bunting is a quarter-final tie against fellow Australian Adam Leek, who survived six match darts against Ross Smith before securing victory in a last-leg decider on his dramatic World Series of Darts debut. Twitter This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only. Top seed Gian van Veen averaged more than 97 in a 6-1 demolition of New Zealand's World Cup star Jonny Tata. The Dutch No 1 will now take on 2022 runner-up Jonny Clayton in the last eight after the Welshman overturned a 4-2 deficit to defeat home favourite Haupai Puha. Also See: When is darts live on Sky Sports? Stream darts and more with NOW Listen to the Love the Darts podcast Latest darts highlights and video Gerwyn Price, the 2022 champion, breezed past Mark Cleaver 6-1 to set up a quarter-final tie with Damon Heta, who reeled off five legs on the spin to come from behind and beat Ben Robb.Josh Rock and James Wade also meet in the quarter-finals after overcoming Simon Whitlock and Kayden Milne, respectively. Twitter This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only. 2026 SkyCity New Zealand Darts MastersSchedule of PlayAll times UK and Ireland Friday August 14Last 16 (best of 11 legs)Gerwyn Price 6-1 Mark CleaverRoss Smith 5-6 Adam LeekJames Wade 6-0 Kayden MilneJosh Rock 6-4 Simon WhitlockGian van Veen 6-1 Jonny TataJonny Clayton 6-5 Haupai PuhaDamon Heta 6-4 Ben RobbStephen Bunting 2-6 Raymond SmithSaturday August 15 (from 8am)Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs)Gian van Veen vs Jonny ClaytonJames Wade vs Josh RockGerwyn Price vs Damon HetaRaymond Smith vs Adam LeekSemi-finals (best of 13 legs)TBCFinal (best of 15 legs)TBCDarts returns to Sky Sports with the BoyleSports World Grand Prix live from September 28 to October 4, where Luke Littler will be out to defend the title. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.