Darts star Bunting's new love... retro football stickers

Stephen Bunting is champion known to galore for being 1 of nan champion darts players connected nan planet.

Currently classed 16th successful nan Professional Darts Championship's bid of merit, nan 39-year-old has gained a monolithic pursuing acknowledgment to his beingness connected societal media.

Many of his mixed 290,000 followers crossed TikTok and X travel acknowledgment to darts and his personality, but immoderate hail from a lesser-known organization who, for illustration Bunting, person a emotion of collecting retro shot stickers and cards.

"When I was a kid getting nan packs, I was truthful excited," Bunting told BBC Sport.

"I retrieve having nan sticker books and I was ever intrigued pinch putting nan stickers successful and trying to capable nan books up.

"I'm a monolithic Liverpool fan, truthful immoderate Liverpool cards I utilized to get arsenic a kid - nan stadium, nan shiny cards and things for illustration that - really sewage maine intrigued and I deliberation that is what gets you hooked."

Bunting's emotion of shot stickers and cards was precocious rekindled aft discovering nan 'Paolo Panini' TikTok transmission tally by Ollie Jenks.

Jenks' transmission regularly has unrecorded streams wherever viewers tin bargain unopened packs from nan 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and watch them being opened live.

"I was conscionable scrolling done nan channels connected TikTok, conscionable looking for contented to beryllium honorable erstwhile you're bored, and I came crossed Paolo's channel," Bunting explained.

"It took maine backmost to my puerility and I conscionable sewage progressive consecutive away. I retrieve putting a remark successful nan chat and he said 'Is that nan existent Stephen Bunting?' and he figured retired it was. We've go really bully friends ever since."

"It's beautiful mad, it's beautiful nuts," said Jenks astir Bunting, who has go a regular follower of his unrecorded streams.

"We've sewage nan overseas ex-footballer aliases immoderate who sometimes comments connected videos, but to person personification successful nan unrecorded watercourse is 'Bunting mental', truthful to speak.

"I deliberation because [of] Stephen's online characteristic arsenic well, from his videos connected his TikTok channel, he's very individual and group tin benignant of subordinate to him.

"He's an mundane man, truthful to person him arsenic 1 of nan regular punters and watching on pinch everyone else, group find it rather idyllic which is really bully and a lukewarm emotion arsenic well."

Bunting, who has spent thousands of pounds connected his rediscovered emotion of shot stickers and cards, has been dubbed 'the battalion king' affectionately by Jenks and his viewers.

That is simply a nickname of his knack for uncovering uncommon and valuable cards.

Explaining nan thrill of nan watch-along sessions, Bunting said: "If a big-name subordinate comes out, you get a buzz and you consciousness it successful Ollie's voice, nan chat room. It's a typical spot to beryllium erstwhile you deed nan large cards and being known arsenic nan battalion king, I've sewage to support it up, haven't I?

"It's brilliant, to beryllium honest. They're each putting 'let's spell Bunting mental' successful nan chat and I deliberation I've gained a batch of caller followers arsenic good from group who possibly didn't cognize maine arsenic a darts player.

"My pursuing astatine nan infinitesimal is fantastic, I effort to do arsenic overmuch connected TikTok and societal media arsenic I tin to show that I americium a normal person."

What started retired pinch trading stickers arsenic a kid successful Exeter's Westpoint Arena during nan precocious 1990s has turned into a full-time profession for Torquay-based Jenks, whose transmission now has 155,000 TikTok followers.

The fame of nan transmission - which stemmed from a podcast - has fixed Jenks nan chance to be this season's Europa League final, activity pinch clubs including West Ham United, and be a Wigan Athletic legends kindness lucifer wherever he and Bunting opened classical packs together.

"I've ever wanted to activity successful shot but I ne'er thought it would beryllium doing this," said Jenks, whose profession earlier shot stickers included being a accelerated nutrient shop head and surviving successful Asia.

"I moved backmost [to England] conscionable earlier Covid and started nan podcast and that is what changed it each really.

"It has and hopefully will still unfastened up opportunities done opening packs passim shot history. We are benignant of nan Antiques Roadshow of shot which is what I for illustration nan watercourse to beryllium and that's wherever we want to return it to.

"It has wholly changed nan trajectory of what I do. I ne'er thought it would extremity up for illustration this."

Jenks' ambitions see having much in-person unrecorded shows and travelling nan country, uncovering much shot stories.

For Bunting, alongside nan darts profession that saw him triumph his first PDC awesome title earlier this year, he hopes to turn his sticker postulation to walk connected to his son, Toby.

Bunting's postulation includes a sticker of West Germany's 1974 World Cup-winning skipper Franz Beckenbauer from nan 1978 Panini World Cup album, that until precocious had been stuck successful a battalion for 46 years. He besides precocious unearthed a signed paper of Liverpool's Harvey Elliott, nan only 1 of its benignant successful nan world.

"I deliberation I've sewage a really bully postulation now and Ollie will beryllium happy to cognize I will beryllium adding to that collection," said Bunting.

"The missus isn't excessively happy because I've conscionable sewage boxes upon boxes successful nan garage. I wouldn't opportunity I'm addicted to it, but I really bask it. It's a awesome hobby to beryllium progressive pinch and if you did want to make money retired of it, there's a batch of money retired there.

"For me, it's not astir that; it's astir passing it down to my boy and early generations."

But has nan thought of having other costs to get much packs pursuing a successful tourney ever crossed Bunting's mind?

"I wouldn't opportunity a small bit, I would opportunity I deliberation astir it a lot," Bunting said.

"I virtually get backmost to my edifice room and that is my chill-out clip truthful I will beryllium looking astatine nan packs connected nan transmission and I will effort and get arsenic galore packs arsenic I tin to prime up nan legends."