LUCKLESS Stephen Bunting is using the power of hypnotherapy to remain upbeat and positive despite being on the verge of creating a new Premier League low.
The Bullet, 39, is rock bottom of the table with ZERO points, having lost all EIGHT first-round games this year in the £1million tournament.
Stephen Bunting is using the power of hypnotherapy amid his winless steak[/caption]
Bunting has lost all eight first-round games in the Premier League[/caption]
In fact, he is on a 12-game Prem winless streak – he has not won in the competition since beating Gary Anderson 7-1 in Cardiff on April 23, 2015, in his debut year at this level.
In the 2020 Covid-hit tournament, he drew 6-6 with Rob Cross on his home stage of Liverpool in a one-off appearance as a contender.
The worst Prem streak is held by Peter Wright, who went 13 games across the 2019 and 2020 editions without celebrating a win.
Should the St Helens thrower lose to Nathan Aspinall on Thursday in Berlin – on week nine – then he will equal Snakebite’s terrible tally.
Yet in a chat with SunSport on Zoom from the German capital, Bunting was still smiling and refusing to talk about the negatives.
Regular sessions being put in a trance by Merseyside-based hypnotherapist Chris O’Connor have changed his mindset and is the reason he remains confident the nightmare run will soon end.
The world No5 said: “The Premier League ten years ago sort of killed me.
“When I got dropped, it was such a bitter pill to swallow. I didn’t think I deserved to be dropped. I finished eighth.
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“I believe I’m a better player now than I was back then. Times change. I’m trying my best. That’s all I can do and the preparations have been right.”
Luke Littler, the world champion, backed Bunting to turn around this dreadful dip and the 2014 Lakeside world champion said those words have “inspired me to push on”.
Bunting, who has tried tinkering his flights and stems, continued: “I’m a very positive person.
“I’ve made tiny mistakes. I’ve been punished for missing a treble or double by millimetres.
“Playing the best players in the world, you don’t get that second chance. Being a part of the Premier League is prestigious.
“Even if I get to the end and I still haven’t won a game, I wouldn’t beat myself up about it. I’ll try to rectify that next year.
“It’s always disappointing when you lose. My family feels it at home. Management. The fans. It’s not for a lack of trying.
“Losses are hard to take but I’m not locking myself away. I don’t do that.
“The record is what it is. It’s just a stat. It won’t affect me. I won’t think about that. If Nathan turns up and averages 115, there’s nothing I can do about it.
“I’m sure that if it is not this week, it will be next week, or the week after that – I will find a win.
“I’m really good. I’m positive. I’ve come here off the back of two decent ProTour displays in Leicester. My form is good. It’s a free hit. All the pressure is off.”
