LITTLER DEFIES THE WHISTLES IN BAHRAIN

DEFENDING champ Luke Littler had to contend with idiotic whistlers as he made a winning return to top-class action.

The Nuke had to battle to make the last eight of the Bahrain Darts Masters after a hard-fought 6-3 win over Lourence Ilagan. Despite mocking himself after an opening throw of 26 in leg seven, Littler, playing his first game since winning the World title at Ally Pally, was able to dispose of the Philippines star.

But referee Russ Bray had to call for order on at lest three occasions during the first-part of the contest due to irritating crowd behaviour.

Bray’s ire came about after loud and sharp whistles were heard as Littler and Ilagan prepared to throw darts during the early and mid-stages of the game. The issue was resolved in the latter part of the clash as the teenager managed to see-off his rival with a late surge clinching his quarter-final meeting with Gerwyn Price.

The 2024 Bahrain winner said: “It would mean the absolute world to come back and retain it as the World Champion. I’ve already kicked off 2025 the best it can get, but to win two tournaments this month would mean the world.”

World No.1 Luke Humphries was supremely impressive as he hammered local star Abulla Saeed in blistering fashion.

Cool Hand recovered from losing his crown at the Ally Pally to Littler with a sizzling first outing of 2025. Humphries didn’t miss a single dart at double with three ton-plus finishes in an 11-minute slaughtering of Saeed.

Stephen Bunting admits former Rangers hero Steven Gerrard left him a bag of nerves at the Bahrain Darts Masters.

The Bullet made his way into the quarter-finals of the competition with a victory over India’s Nitin Kumar. But Bunting was on edge through the game thinking Gerrard was in the crowd.

The massive Liverpool fan had been informed the Anfield icon, who is currently boss at Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq, was due to join the galleries in the crowd for the evening. However, although it didn’t materialise in the end with Gerrard not making it, Bunting wasn’t made aware of that fact until after his game was done.

He smiled: “It was a bit nervy, to be honest. People were talking that Steven Gerrard was here, so I was even more nervous. Obviously, to play in front of one of the legends of Liverpool would have been great, but I don’t think he’s here. So, thanks for telling me after I’ve come off!”

Kumar’s big effort belied the 6-2 scoreline and Bunting added: “I think that made me more nervous, to be honest. I could have had an easier draw, but I know Nitin quite well. He’s a fantastic player and India’s No.1. You don’t become India’s No.1 just by luck, so I knew I had a difficult game. I was ready for it and thankfully, I got over the line.”

Rob Cross has made unwanted history at the Bahrain Darts Masters.

The former World Champion had a nightmare start to his competitive year when he was defeated by Paulo Nebrida. In the third staging of the event, the Philippines star became the first-ever Asian ace to sink a PDC icon at the Bahrain tournament.

Nebrida also became only the second Asian player to beat a PDC seeded representative in World Series history following up the stunning Royden Lam win over Gary Anderson at the Shanghai Darts Masters in China seven years ago.

The Filipino flinger, who impressed during a run to the last 16 at the Worlds whilst Cross was being knocked out in his first game by Scott Williams, was able to take advantage of Voltage’s sloppy performance and become the first-ever from his country to win a game at the event.

Cross’ setback was a big surprise, but Gerwyn Price made no mistake in his outing when he defeated Lok Yin Lee by a 6-3 scoreline in the second match of the opening night in the Kingdom.

2025 Bahrain Darts Masters
Thursday January 16
First Round 
Paolo Nebrida 6-3 Rob Cross
Gerwyn Price 6-3 Lok Yin Lee
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Nitin Kumar
Chris Dobey 6-0 Basem Mahmood
Luke Humphries 6-0 Abdulla Saeed
Luke Littler 6-3 Lourence Ilagan
Peter Wright 6-3 Alexis Toylo
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Xiaochen Zong

Friday January 17 (1900 local time, 1600 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall
Stephen Bunting v Chris Dobey
Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price
Paolo Nebrida v Peter Wright
Best of 11 legs