Bunting saw off Robert Marijanović 3–1 in his first match at the PDC World Championship, before defeating an out of sorts James Wade 4–1. He played fellow St. Helens player Michael Smith in the third round and eliminated him 4–2, after surviving a comeback when Smith rallied from 3–0 down. Both players averaged 102 and hit eight 180s each during a high quality match. In an extremely close quarter-final clash with Raymond van Barneveld there was never more than a set between the players as they both averaged 98.30. Bunting could not win a leg in the deciding set to be defeated 5–4 and end his chances of becoming the first player to hold both versions of the World Championship at the same time. After Van Barneveld stated that his opponent's performance had shown he was a world class player, Bunting was left in tears on stage in the post-match interview.