The darts star responds to criticism from Luke Littler, after his rival branded his behavior towards the star as “bizarre” following the World Championship clash.

A darts star has hit back at criticism over his behavior towards Luke Littler after a rival branded him “weird”.

Stephen Bunting has been in good form over the last few months, winning the Bahrain Darts Masters and finishing second to Rob Cross in the Dutch Darts Masters last week.

That followed his run to the semi-final of the World Darts Championship, when he lost to Littler, who would go on to win the tournament, at Alexandra Palace.

During the game between the two on January 2, Bunting was seen regularly hitting Littler, who would dominate 'The Bullet' and ultimately emerge victorious with a 6-1 victory.

After the event, Bunting's actions on stage were questioned, with rival player Dave Chisnall calling him “a bit strange” despite insisting that Bunting is his “friend”.

Now, however, Bunting has responded, jumping to his own defense and praising Littler.

Darts star Stephen Bunting (left) has responded to criticism over his behavior towards Luke Littler.

They criticized him for punching the star while he was being beaten at Alexandra Palace

Littler beat Bunting 6-1 in the semifinals en route to winning the tournament this month.

“It bothers me a little bit that people notice that kind of thing,” Bunting said. “It shows how well I'm playing, that they have to recognize a fist bump instead of a bad performance.”

'Luke is a boy who has the world at his feet and is still learning how to play. I really respect what he's doing for our game. I hope it continues for many years because it is bringing a lot more money to our sport.

'So, yeah, I'm very respectful and grateful that he's doing that. On the other hand, I know him personally, I grew up in the same area as him, I have known him for many years, since he was a little boy.

“I played against Luke Humphries in Bahrain, there were a few games there, a few shots where we fist bumped. It's not all the time. “We’re all friends on tour.”

Chisnall, who is ranked sixth in the world but has missed selection for both Masters events so far as well as the Premier League, wrote in a Kwiff column: “The big disappointment of the semi-finals was my friend Stephen Bunting .

He was phenomenal in the first set, but he must have been destroyed by losing 3-2, despite the high averages.

“I'm not someone who has any game skills and you won't hear me criticizing people, but I did think the fist bumps after each set were a little strange.

“You could tell Michael (Van Gerwen) didn't have any of that in the final!” he added.

Dave Chisnall wrote that Bunting's behavior was “strange” but called him his “friend.”

Littler won the World Championship, but was defeated by Bunting in Holland last week.

Bunting, 39, has enjoyed an excellent rise in the sport, now ranked No 5 and returning to the Premier League squad following his World Cup run.

In Holland, he beat Littler in the semi-finals in a decisive match in the last match, in which the match was decided in six games rather than in sets, as was the case at Alexandra Palace.

Last week's competition was his first since Littler turned 18, as he missed out on the £30,000 prize money on offer.

So said Cross, who suffered a shock first-round defeat in Bahrain but returned to form in the Netherlands.