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 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.
The 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters concludes with a bumper evening session on Friday, as the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final get underway from 1600 GMT.
The tournament is being broadcast live on PDCTV in all territories other than Germany, Austria & Switzerland (coverage via DAZN), and on ITV4 and ITVX for UK viewers.
Click here for ways to watch.
Click here for match stats & results.
2026 Bahrain Darts Masters
Thursday January 15
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
Friday January 16 (1900 local time, 1600 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen v Stephen Bunting
Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall
Gian van Veen v Danny Noppert
Best of 11 legs
Semi-Finals
Littler/Price v Van Gerwen/Bunting
Humphries/Aspinall v Van Veen/Noppert
Best of 13 legs
Final
Best of 15 legs