Although he now lives in Warrington, Littler spent his childhood in Runcorn and rose to global fame earlier this month when he reached the World Championship final at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 16-year-old’s Bahrain Darts Masters debut.
Event
This second staging of the Bahrain Darts Masters is the first event of the 2024 World Series of Darts.
St Helens hurler Michael Smith is the reigning champion after defeating Gerwyn Price 8-6 at the inaugural Bahrain Darts Masters last year.
The Bahrain International Circuit dome will be the venue for the two-day match.
Today’s first round will pit eight of the sport’s biggest names against eight Asian representatives.
Who is in the cast of “The Nuke”?
World Championship runner-up Luke Littler will face Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung in what is likely to be a highly anticipated first round draw, with the World Youth Champion making his long-awaited World Series of Darts debut.
“Now I’m back to work,” Littler said. “Since the World Championship final, I have relaxed and not thrown many darts, but I am confident that I will be fine once I get into the practice room.
“I always like to play, but after the World Championships I wanted to leave. Me and my family did that. Hopefully we can have a good event here to get back to playing.”
If Littler wins in the first round, he will face Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals and Luke Humphries in the semi-finals, potentially leading to a repeat World Championship final.
complete lottery
Luke Humphries V Abdullah Said
Gerwyn Price V Reynaldo Rivera
Nathan Aspinall V Lawrence Ilagan
Luke Littler V Man Rock Leon
Michael van Gerwen V Hasan Haji
Rob Cross V Tomoya Goto
Michael Smith V Paolo Nebrida
Peter Wright V Haruki Muramatsu
What is the format?
Round 1: Best of 11 Legs
Quarterfinals: Best of 11 Legs
Semi-final: Best of 13 legs
Final: Best of 15 Legs
How will it all unfold?
Eight first round matches will be played today, starting one after the other at 4pm UK time.
The game is scheduled to end by 8 p.m., and Littler’s contest will be either the fifth or eighth game.
The 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters will conclude tomorrow with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in one bumper session, also scheduled from 4pm to 8pm UK time.
How can I watch it?
UK viewers can watch Thursday on ITVX and Friday’s final stage on ITV4.
The Bahrain Darts Masters will also be broadcast live on PDCTV in all regions except Germany, Austria and Switzerland (broadcast via DAZN).
Prize money and (ranking points)
Winner: £20,000 (12)
Runner-up: £10,000 (8)
Semi-finalist: £5,000 (5)
Quarter-finalists: £2,500 (3)
First round loser: £1,250 (1)
Competing player details
PDC representative:
Luke Humphries, Great Britain, World Champion and World Number One
Michael van Gerwen, Netherlands, three-time world champion
Michael Smith, Great Britain, 2023 World Champion
Nathan Aspinall, England, 2023 World Matchplay Champion
Gerwyn Price, Wales, 2021 World Champion
Rob Cross, England, 2018 World Champion
Peter Wright, Scotland, 2020 and 2022 World Champion
Luke Littler, Great Britain, 2024 World Championship runner-up
Asian representative:
Tomoya Goto, Japan, 2023 PDC Asia Tour OOM runner-up
Man Lok Leung, Hong Kong, 2024 World Championship Qualifier
Haruki Muramatsu, Japan, 2023 PDC Asia Championship Winner
Lawrence Ilagan, Philippines, 2023 PDC Asia Tour OOM Winner
Paolo Nebrida, Philippines, 2023 PDC Asia Tour OOM #3
Reynaldo Rivera, Philippines, 2023 PDC Asia Tour OOM #4
Hasan Haji, Bahrain, Bahrain Qualifying
Abdullah Saeed, Bahrain, Bahrain Qualifying
Take a closer look at the other first round rankings
2023 World Champion Michael Smith will open his first match against former PDC Asia Championship runner-up Nebrida, who made his second appearance at the World Darts Championship last month.
“It’s great to be back here in Bahrain and I’m looking forward to getting back on that stage,” Smith said during Wednesday night’s draw.
“I had a week to recharge in Dubai with my family and then went on the PDC Asia Tour last weekend, which gave me the desire to get back on the dartboard and prepare.”
New world champion Luke Humphrys, who has become world number one after his performance at Alexandra Palace, will face Bahrain’s Saeed, who will be making his first TV appearance in his home country after winning last month’s qualifying round.
“I’m so excited to hear John MacDonald announce me as the new world champion. I think that’s a moment that all world champions look forward to,” said the 3-year-old, who has won an astonishing 19 straight matches on the big stage. Humphries admitted that he is aiming to improve his . .
“I am very motivated now. I want to be more dedicated than ever and continue to be successful and win more major titles.”
Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen will represent Bahrain against local qualifier Hassan Haji, while 2023 runner-up Price will face Philippines’ Reynaldo Rivera.
World matchplay champion Aspinall will face eight-time world championship qualifier Lawrence Ilagan, while 2018 world champion Rob Cross will face rising Japanese star Tomoya Goto.
Two-time world champion Peter Wright will open the tournament, with the Scottish veteran taking on PDC Asian champion Haruki Muramatsu for the right to face either Smith or Nebrida in the last eight.