Stephen Bunting vs James Hurrell Prediction & Betting Tips - World Darts Championship
PDC World Darts Championship - World Darts Championship
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by Devesh Jaganath | in PDC World Darts Championship Predictions
Round 3 at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship will see Stephen Bunting taking on James Hurrell on Saturday. The winner of this match between Bullet and Hillbilly will meet either Martin Schindler or Ryan Searle in the fourth round. Let’s get into the match prediction.
Stephen Bunting survived an opening-round scare by managing to edge Sebastian Bialecki 3-2. He had his joint-best showing at the Ally Pally last year, reaching the semi-final of the competition.
In round 2, Bullet defeated India’s Nitin Kumar 3-0, averaging 94.11, including two 180s. He was excellent on the outer ring (52.94%) and recorded a highest checkout of 132 in that match.
Bunting has won four and lost six of his last 10 matches in all competitions, but he did beat this opponent in their only previous encounter back in 2023 at the Players Championship.
Meanwhile, James Hurrell opened his 2026 Worlds campaign with a solid 3-1 victory over Stowe Buntz. This is the first time that he has reached the third round here at the Ally Pally.
Hillbilly produced one of the biggest wins of his career in round two, defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-2. He fired 10 maximums and averaged 92.83, while making 11/30 of his checkout attempts.
Hurrell has split his last 10 matches, five wins and five losses across all competitions.
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Stephen Bunting - James Hurrell Key Points
- Stephen Bunting is ranked 59 places above Hurrell in the PDC Order of Merit.
- Stephen Bunting reached the semi-final of this competition last year.
- Stephen Bunting won his only previous match against this opponent 6-2.
- James Hurrell has never got beyond the third round at the World Championship.
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Our Stephen Bunting vs James Hurrell Prediction
James Hurrell will enter this match brimming with confidence after pulling off arguably the biggest win of his career in round two, defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode in a five-set thriller.
However, he now faces a significant step up in class of opposition in Stephen Bunting, who bounced back incredibly after a shaky start in the first round. Bullet is one of our outside favourites for the title this year, so we expect him to get the result in this one. Our Stephen Bunting vs James Hurrell prediction is Stephen Bunting wins.
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All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
