Luke Littler prepares for first tournament as defending world darts champion Bahrain Darts Masters | News about darts
Luke Littler will begin his defense of the Bahrain Darts Masters against PDC Asian champion Lawrence Ilagan, as he prepares to make his first appearance as world champion on Thursday night.
The last time Littler met the Filipino in November, the roof was almost raised in Wolverhampton at the Grand Slam of Darts as the teenager fell just nine darts short, missing double 12 in a 5-3 eventual victory.
Littler marked his arrival on the world stage with a nine-dart en route to victory in Bahrain last year, defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final to triumph on his World Championship debut.
Having also defeated Van Gerwen to lift the iconic Sid Waddell Trophy at Alexandra Palace on January 3, the teenage sensation will return to action against the enigmatic Ilagan.
World No.1 Luke Humphries will begin his campaign against local qualifier Abdulla Saeed as he bids to get back to winning ways after crashing out of the last 16 of the World Darts Championship.
Humphries won 6-0 when the pair met at the same stage of last year’s competition and will be hoping for a repeat performance as he maintains his ever-present record in Bahrain.
Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey will be among the eight PDC representatives this week, with debutants Nitin Kumar and Basem Mahmood up against each other.
Reigning Masters winner Bunting rose to a career-high world No. 5 after a run to the semi-finals of the World Championships, and will make his Bahrain bow against India’s Prime Minister Kumar.
Meanwhile, Dobey, also a semi-finalist at Alexandra Palace, faces Bahrain’s Mahmood for a place in the quarter-finals as he prepares to compete in his first global World Series event.
2018 World Champion Rob Cross faces a tough test against Paolo Nebrida, who defeated Jim Williams and Ross Smith to reach the third round of the World Championship.
Elsewhere, 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price will meet Hong Kong’s Lok Yin Lee and 2023 World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall will take on PDC China champion Xiaochen Zong.
Peter Wright completes the eight-man PDC line-up. The two-time world champion will begin his campaign against PDC Asian Tour 2024 Order of Merit winner Alexis Toylo.
Littler: If I want Taylor’s record, I can break it
Littler has been on a meteoric rise since his sensational run to the World Championship final in January 2024 and completed his 10th title in his first year on the professional circuit by claiming the biggest prize of all at the second moment of the quest.
The young star believes he “has the ability” to break Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor’s astonishing record of 16 world titles.
“Deep down, if I want to try to break the record then I’m sure I have the ability to do it,” Littler said.
“If I want to do it, I’m sure I’ll do it. I just need to keep going. The calendar is lined up all year long.
“I’ve said in previous interviews that I’ll be happy if I win all the major titles in my career, but obviously I’d like to add world titles.”
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