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Bahrain Darts Masters 2024 | Draw, Live Scores and Schedule of Play

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Luke Littler enjoys winning World Series debut in Bahrain Masters as Aspinall and Smith survive scares

Bahrain Darts Masters 2024 | Day One Preview and Order of Play

Jamie Shaw in Bahrain Darts Masters 18 Jan 2024

Luke Littler celebrates (Photo by Kieran Cleeves/PDC)

The second staging of the Bahrain Darts Masters begins on Thursday as the PDC stars face off against Asian representatives in the opening round.

The World Series returns to Bahrain as 16 players battle it out at the Bahrain International Circuit for the first silverware of the new season and the £20,000 top prize.

The field is made up of eight PDC invites and eight Asian representatives, with the top four PDC players seeded in the draw.

All eyes will be on teenage sensation Luke Littler as he marks his World Series debut with a tie against another World Championship star in Man Lok Leung.

Littler made global headlines courtesy of his fairy-tale debut run to the final at Alexandra Palace a fortnight ago, narrowly falling short of becoming darts’ youngest ever World Champion.

Just three days short of his 17th birthday, Littler returns to action looking to pick up from where he left off at Ally Pally.

The World Youth Champion, who has also been handed a Premier League spot following his historic recent exploits, has surpassed one million followers on Instagram and is now a household name.

He faces a tricky opener against Hong Kong’s Leung – who also made a name for himself with a terrific debut display at the World Championship – defeating Gian van Veen with the aid of 11 maximums, before going down 3-1 to Gabriel Clemens in the Second Round.

Luke Humphries begins his year as World Champion with a tie against Bahrain qualifier Abdulla Saeed.

Humphries, whose road to glory at Ally Pally also saw him become world number one for the first time, is looking to stretch his unbeaten run to 20 matches in all competitions.

A winner of four major titles since October, ‘Cool Hand Luke’ is bidding to open his World Series account and put down an instant marker by blasting past rank outsider Saeed.

Meanwhile, Michael Smith launches the defence of his title with a clash against Paolo Nebrida of the Philippines.

Just a fortnight after becoming World Champion, Smith went on to claim his third World Series title and become the inaugural Bahrain Masters champion, but that proved to be his only televised silverware of the season.

A below-par year for Bully Boy saw him reach the Semi-Finals of the Masters, Premier League and World Grand Prix, but end the season as world number three following a Last 16 defeat to Chris Dobey at the World Championship.

Smith starts out with a clash of styles against the methodical Nebrida – who pushed Simon Whitlock to a last-set decider in the opening round of the recent World Championship.

Michael van Gerwen marks his maiden Bahrain campaign with what looks to be a routine tie against debutant qualifier Hasan Haji.

Premier League and World Series Finals champion MVG will be out to bounce back from his shock Quarter-Final defeat at the hands of Scott Williams in the World Championship.

The world number two won the inaugural World Series event in Dubai in 2013 and has gone on to claim a staggering 19 titles in 51 World Series tournament appearances.

Haji joined Saeed in winning through last month’s Bahrain Qualifiers to confirm his TV debut and set up a dream show-down with the three-time World Champion.

Elsewhere, former World Champion Gerwyn Price starts out with a tie against recent World Championship qualifier Reynaldo Rivera.

Price finished runner-up in last year’s Bahrain Masters, and the three-time World Series event winner will be determined to bounce back from his shock Third Round exit to Brendan Dolan at Ally Pally.

Rivera, one of three Filipino throwers in the line-up, was beaten 3-1 by Keane Barry in Round One of the World Championship and was a two-time Asian Tour event winner in 2023.

Two-time World Champion Peter Wright begins the day’s action with a meeting against PDC Asian Champion Haruki Muramatsu.

Wright claimed his eighth major title at the European Championship last October, the highlight of an otherwise below-par year which culminated in a Second Round exit to Jim Williams at the World Championship.

Wright ended the campaign at his lowest ranking (eighth) in more than a decade but has been handed a place in the upcoming Premier League and will look to start the new season on a high.

Muramatsu featured in November’s Grand Slam, as well as the World Championship, but suffered four straight defeats and will be eyeing a rare televised triumph on his return to the World Series.

World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall also bids to bounce back from a shock Second Round exit at Ally Pally when he faces Filipino star Lourence Ilagan.

Aspinall was beaten by Ricky Evans in his opener at Ally Pally, marking a disappointing end to an otherwise memorable year which saw him triumph in Blackpool and finish runner-up in the World Series Finals.

Ilagan was involved in a five-set thriller with Matt Campbell at Ally Pally but ultimately came out on the losing side, having finished top of the 2023 Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Former World Champion Rob Cross also aims to avert a potential banana skin when he meets Japan’s Tomoya Goto.

Cross enjoyed a resurgent 2023 campaign which saw him finish runner-up in the Masters and Grand Slam and reach the Semi-Finals of the World Championship, resulting in a return to the Premier League this year.

The three-time World Series event winner will be wary of the threat posed by Goto – who defeated Ian White on his Ally Pally debut last month before going down 3-1 to Ryan Searle in Round Two.

The action gets under way from 4pm GMT, with First Round matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.

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Bahrain Darts Masters 2024 Day One Schedule

All times GMT (local time +3 hours)

Thursday January 18

Round One

4pm-8pm
Peter Wright v Haruki Muramatsu
Gerwyn Price v Reynaldo Rivera
Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan
Rob Cross v Tomoya Goto
Luke Littler v Man Lok Leung
Luke Humphries v Abdulla Saeed
Michael van Gerwen v Hasan Haji
Michael Smith v Paolo Nebrida

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Bahrain Darts Masters 2024 | Day One Preview and Order of Play

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