Luke Littler (left) defeats Peter Lim (Photo Taylor Lanning/PDC)
Luke Littler opened his bid for a second Bahrain Darts Masters title with a superb 6-1 success against darting icon Paul Lim, as reigning champion Stephen Bunting also advanced in Sakhir.
Day One of the year’s opening World Series of Darts event saw all eight PDC superstars progress to Finals Day, with Littler and world number two Luke Humphries delivering stand-out displays.
Newly-crowned two-time World Champion Littler – competing in his first game since retaining the Sid Waddell Trophy – averaged over 106 to topple Lim in a clash of the darting generations on Thursday, producing a spectacular 170 checkout in the process.
The pair exchanged holds in the early stages of the contest, before Littler raced to victory in blistering fashion, following up the 170 with a clinical 121 finish in leg five.
“Paul’s been performing well for many, many years,” reflected 2024 winner Littler, who paid tribute to the man 53 years his senior.
“He’s a class act and he’s still going strong, but thankfully I was able to kick on and get the win.
“It’s always good to be back in Bahrain. This is the start of the new season for us, and you want to start the year off right, with a title.”
Humphries also impressed at the Exhibition World Bahrain, averaging 103.66 to register a third consecutive whitewash victory over Host Nation representative Abdulla Saeed.
“I’m pretty happy with my performance,” admitted Humphries, who will play Nathan Aspinall for a place in the semi-finals.
“I want to come here and start the season a little bit better than I usually do, and I’ve tried my best to keep in the flow with my practice this year.”
Elsewhere, defending champion Bunting swept aside Ryusei Azemoto to begin his bid for back-to-back titles in Bahrain, punishing a profligate display from the Japanese star to seal a 6-2 success.
Bunting’s reward will be a tussle against three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen, who defied a spirited display from PDC Asian Tour winner Alexis Toylo to open his title challenge.
The Dutchman reeled off three straight legs from 4-3 adrift to overcome the methodical left-hander, as he sets his sights on a record-extending 17th World Series of Darts crown.
Van Gerwen was joined in the quarter-finals by his fellow countrymen Gian van Veen and Danny Noppert, who will go head-to-head on Finals Day.
World Championship finalist Van Veen kicked off his campaign with a 6-2 victory over Man Lok Leung, winning five straight legs to dump out Hong Kong’s World Cup quarter-finalist.
Noppert, meanwhile, ran out a comprehensive 6-1 winner against Bahrain’s Basem Mahmood, as he enjoyed a winning return on the World Series stage.
Gerwyn Price and Aspinall completed the quarter-final line-up, confirming their progress with 6-4 wins against Motomu Sakai and Lourence Ilagan respectively.
Two-time runner-up Price survived a scare in Thursday’s opener, firing in a superb 11-darter to set up a fascinating encounter against Littler in the last eight.
Aspinall later denied PDC Asian Champion Ilagan by the same scoreline, in a repeat of their clash at last month’s World Darts Championship.
RESULTS
Round One: Gerwyn Price 6-4 Motomu Sakai; Gian van Veen 6-2 Man Lok Leung; Danny Noppert 6-1 Basem Mahmood; Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Lourence Ilagan; Luke Humphries 6-0 Abdulla Saeed; Luke Littler 6-1 Paul Lim; Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Alexis Toylo; Stephen Bunting 6-2 Ryusei Azemoto
