Littler looked invincible in the first half of 2026 as he won the first five majors and was aiming to become the first person to claim a clean sweep in a calendar year.

But that all went wrong when he crashed out of the World Series of Darts Finals in the quarter-finals and then followed it up with a first-round exit at the Grand Prix and another last-eight defeat in the European Championship.

The back-to-back world champion is aiming to get back to winning ways at the Grand Slam of Darts, which starts on Saturday, but Bunting says the rest of the field have enjoyed recent weeks.

“There’s probably a deep sigh of relief when he goes out of a tournament, I’m not going to lie,” Bunting, who is an ambassador for Panini, told the Press Association.

“I like him. He’s a fantastic lad. I’ve grown to know him over the last probably 10 years and he’s a good friend of mine.

“I wish him all the best in his career until he plays me.

“We have great rivalry, not just me and Luke, but me and most of the other players, to be honest.

“I think just the way the standard keeps improving, it keeps pushing us to another other levels, other boundaries, if we keep improving.”

Bunting’s only major tournament victory at the 2024 World Masters came when Littler was not present, having arrived on the scene too late to qualify.

While winning major titles is now harder than ever, the Liverpudlian believes he is playing well enough to add to his collection, starting at the Grand Slam.

“I feel like the confidence is there,” he added. “I feel like I’m in a good place. I feel like I’m playing some of the best darts I have ever done.

“So with that, obviously the confidence comes.

“That imprint in my brain that I’m good enough to win titles again.

“And I think it’s important that you feel that way, especially coming into the back end of the year.

“Three really big tournaments coming up, obviously all leading towards the World Championships, but the two before (Grand Slam and Players Championships) are exceptionally important because that gives you that confidence to go on for the Worlds.”

:: Stephen Bunting was speaking at the launch of the Panini PDC Top Flight Sticker Collection 2027 in London. The collection is available now at retailers nationwide and online via Panini.co.uk.