DARTS – REIGNING back-to-back world champion Luke Littler and defending champion in the kingdom Stephen Bunting led the star-studded cast of Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) superstars into the quarter-finals last night of the 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters.
Littler and Bunting claimed their respective first-round match-ups at a rocking Terminal 4 by Beyon in Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB).
The two-day darts spectacle is the opening event of this year’s PDC World Series of Darts.
Littler defeated Singapore’s Paul Lim 6-1 in their best-of-11 legs contest, while Bunting overcame some late drama to oust Japan’s Ryusei Azemoto 6-2 in their head-to-head.
“I’m very happy,” Littler told the GDN following his win. “I played with brand new darts – I thought I’d give them a try, and it went pretty well. We’ll come back tomorrow and hopefully pick up the golden palm tree again.”
Bunting told the GDN: “It’s always nice to get through – I wanted it to be as quick as I could, but unfortunately I just fell asleep towards the end, but it’s the negatives that I need to get around to get ready for tomorrow.
“It’s going to be a big day, but I’ll make sure I’ll be ready.”
Littler and Bunting are to be joined in this evening’s elite eight by 2020-21 world champion Gerwyn Price, world championship runner-up Gian van Veen, Dutch star Danny Noppert, former World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall, 2023-24 world champion Luke Humphries, and the World Series of Darts’ most successful player in history and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.
Price battled from a leg down to beat Motomu Sakai from Japan 6-4, while van Veen needed to do the same against Man Lok Leung from Hong Kong, who missed a chance to go 3-1 up in a 2-6 loss to his Dutch rival.
Noppert overcame the massive crowd backing for Bahraini star Basem Mahmood in a 6-1 win, while Aspinall staved off a challenge from Lourence Ilagan of the Philippines to win 6-4.
Humphries cruised against Bahrain’s Abdulla Saeed 6-0, while van Gerwen trailed twice against Alexis Toylo of the Philippines before holding his nerve for a 6-4 triumph.
In the quarters, Littler will next take on Price, Bunting will face van Gerwen, van Veen will battle Noppert in an all-Dutch affair, and Humphries will lock horns with Aspinall in an all-English clash.
Littler, who was the Bahrain Darts Masters champion on his World Series of Darts debut in 2024, highlighted the importance of doing well in the kingdom.
“It’s the start of the season for all of us – the world series is the first thing on the calendar after the world championship, so we’ve always got to be ready; we’ve always got to be in the top eight or top 16 for the seedings in the world series finals in Amsterdam in September,” he told the GDN.
“We’ve got to stay motivated and the world series is a brilliant opportunity to pick up titles.”
Bunting spoke of his determination to retain his crown in Bahrain.
“I’ve won this tournament before and I feel confident,” Bunting told the GDN. “I’ll go back now and regroup and I’ll make sure I’ll turn up in the best Stephen Bunting you’ll see tomorrow.
“I want to retain this title with all I’ve got – I’ll give it all I’ve got, and we’ll see how it goes.”
The 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters is organised by Bahrain International Circuit, the PDC, and sports promoter CBX, and is supported by Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority.
Tonight’s play is scheduled to begin from 7pm, with the quarters being followed by the semi-finals and final. Gates are scheduled to open at 6pm.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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