Serial world champion Luke Littler got off to a winning start at the Bahrain Darts Masters with a convincing 6-1 victory over Paul Lim, with Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price also reaching the quarter-finals.
In his first appearance since successfully retaining the Sid Waddell Trophy at Alexandra Palace on January 3, Littler extended his advantage as world No. 1, ousting the fan favorite 53 years his senior.
Littler, who won his first World Series of Darts title at this event in 2024, averaged 106.5 points in a one-sided match, recorded a double-ton finish, and scored the tournament’s first “big fish” checkout, converting six of his eight tries into a double.
Luke Littler advances to quarter-finals of Bahrain Darts Masters
After “Iceman” defeated fan favorite Motomu Sakai 6-4, Nuke now faces a quarterfinal showdown with Price, who defeated Littler at the same stage of last year’s event.
World championship runner-up Jan van Veen defeated Man Lok Leong 6-2, Humphries sent off Abdulla Said in straight sets for the third year in a row, while Michael van Gerwen, defending champion Stephen Bunting, Danny Noppert and Nathan Aspinall also made it to the last eight.
Littler and Humphries produce a statement performance
Lim missed a chance to break Littler in the first leg, but posted a 74 finish in the next leg before ‘The Nuke’ followed up a sensational 170 checkout in the third leg with an 11 darter to break the veteran in the fourth leg to take control.
The 18-year-old added a 121 checkout to extend his lead further and didn’t miss a dart with a double until the final stretch of the match. He clinched the victory with 14 darters to book a matchup with Price in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Littler only dropped one leg in his impressive win over Paul Lim
“Paul has performed well over the years,” Littler said. “He’s a first-class player and he’s still going strong, but thankfully I got the start and got the win. It’s always good to come back to Bahrain. It’s the start of a new season for us and we’ll want to win the title and start the year well.”
Price needed a 107 finish to mount a wicked opening leg against Sakai, who broke the Welshman multiple times to get the better of him, but poor finishing thwarted his hopes of a famous victory.
Gerwyn Price hits 11 leg darts to secure a place in the last eight against Littler
Van Veen also took advantage of Leon’s wayward scoring to reach the last eight, coming from a 2-1 deficit to win five games in a row and setting up an all-Dutch quarter-final against Noppert.
Bahrain’s Bassem Mahmoud claimed his first win at the event, but was thrashed 6-1 by Noppert, while fellow home favorite Saeed hit just one double in a straight-leg loss to Humphries.
“I’m pretty happy with my performance,” admitted Humphries, who averaged 103.66 points and will face Aspinall for a spot in the semifinals. “I’m hoping to come here and start the season a little better than usual. I’ve been doing my best to keep the flow going this year in practice.”
Aspinall defeated PDC Asian champions Ilagan 6-4 in a repeat of their encounter at last month’s World Darts Championship, while van Gerwen came back from a 4-3 deficit to beat Alexis Toiro by the same score.
The Dutchman will continue his chase for a record-extending 17th World Series of Darts crown against Bunting, who benefited from Ryusei Tsunemoto’s double mistake and started his bid for back-to-back titles in Bahrain with a 6-2 victory.
Will Stephen Bunting be able to successfully defend his title in Bahrain?
Bahrain Darts Masters: Friday Schedule
Quarterfinals (best of 11 legs) – 4:15 p.m.
Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting
Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall
Jan van Veen vs Danny Knoppert
Semi-finals – best of 13 legs
Littler/Price v Van Gerwen/Bunting
Humphries/Aspinall v Van Veen/Knoppert
Final – Best of 15 Legs
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