Luke Littler hammers Paul Lim as PDC stars avoid upsets at Bahrain Masters

[p]Fresh from retaining the Sid Waddell Trophy earlier this month, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/littler-luke/0URN6Xks/"]Littler[/a] averaged north of 106 at the Exhibition World Bahrain against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lim-paul/zTyH3B2p/"]Lim[/a], a player whose career predates Littler's birth by several decades.[/p][p]A sublime 170 checkout, followed swiftly by a clinical 121, accelerated what had briefly been a competitive opening into a procession.[/p][embed guid="1359cd7f-b15d-4076-a2f9-8868cc9b45f8" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2011877453044609029" social-type="twitter" /][p]Lim, now 69, traded early holds and never lacked for endeavour, but once Littler found top gear, the contest tilted. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/lim-p-zTyH3B2p/littler-l-0URN6Xks/summary/stats/?mid=QHhWGdy2"]The match ended as many of Littler's recent outings have done[/a], with an opponent left applauding quality rather than lamenting errors.[/p][p]The world champion was quick to return the respect, describing Lim as "a class act" and acknowledging the significance of starting the season sharply at a venue where he has already tasted success.[/p][embed guid="2c742ef8-e5e5-4840-be65-41103076ef86" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2011910134545727990" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"Paul's been performing well for many, many years," [/b]reflected 2024 winner Littler, who paid tribute to the man 53 years his senior.[/p][p][b]"He's a class act, and he's still going strong, but thankfully, I was able to kick on and get the win.[/b][/p][p][b]"It's always good to be back in Bahrain. This is the start of the new season for us, and you want to start the year off right, with a title."[/b][/p][p]World number two [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/humphries-luke/n34VOAWo/"]Luke Humphries[/a] continued a striking run of dominance against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saeed-abdulla/IJNowe82/"]Abdulla Saeed[/a], producing a third successive whitewash victory over the Bahraini representative in Bahrain with a 103.66 average.[/p][p]Humphries' rhythm looked settled, his scoring relentless, and his 6-0 win was achieved with minimal fuss.[/p][p]The reigning champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bunting-stephen/xANKMtPG/"]Stephen Bunting[/a] also progressed without alarm, sweeping aside [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/azemoto-ryusei/0plyQl7d/"]Ryusei Azemoto[/a] 6-2.[/p][embed guid="4031708b-1cbd-45ab-bceb-555d9c2ec5c9" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2011898405467938983" social-type="twitter" /][p]The Japanese star was unable to capitalise on opportunities at crucial moments, and Bunting's experience told as he punished missed doubles to set up a heavyweight quarter-final against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-gerwen-michael/SU4UkKsm/"]Michael van Gerwen[/a], who recovered from 4-3 down against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/toylo-alexis/SCHc0Vr9/"]Alexis Toylo[/a] before rattling off three straight legs to keep alive his pursuit of a record-extending 17th World Series title.[/p][p]World Championship finalist [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-veen-gian/jgT1AT29/"]Gian van Veen[/a] impressed on his World Series return, winning five consecutive legs in a 6-2 victory over Man Lok Leung, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/noppert-danny/YmMfGEz0/"]Danny Noppert[/a] dispatched home favourite Basem Mahmood 6-1 with trademark efficiency. [/p][p]Elsewhere, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/price-gerwyn/8dDDoW0B/"]Gerwyn Price[/a] survived a testing opener against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sakai-motomu/bwXXoVMU/"]Motomu Sakai[/a], sealing a 6-4 win that included an 11-dart leg of real authority. The Welshman now faces Littler in a quarter-final that promises a compelling contrast between raw momentum and seasoned power.[/p][embed guid="750f4805-63f2-46b8-a5b6-013d6a992cda" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2011844139433017436" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aspinall-nathan/KURJJrU5/"]Nathan Aspinall[/a] completed the last-eight lineup with a 6-4 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ilagan-lourence/6NQofchc/"]Lourence Ilagan[/a], repeating the scoreline from their recent World Championship meeting and setting up a clash with Humphries.[/p][p]The 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters resumes on Friday from 17:00 CET, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final all to be played in a single session.[/p][h2]First-round results:[/h2][p]Gerwyn Price [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/price-g-8dDDoW0B/sakai-m-bwXXoVMU/?mid=Ymal6uNq"]6-4[/a] Motomu Sakai[/p][p]Gian van Veen [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/leung-m-l-bi97bfqi/van-veen-g-jgT1AT29/?mid=hjFk4Jid"]6-2[/a] Man Lok Leung[/p][p]Danny Noppert [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/mahmood-b-8zT8FDGO/noppert-d-YmMfGEz0/?mid=Kd7ySMq3"]6-1[/a] Basem Mahmood[/p][p]Nathan Aspinall [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/aspinall-n-KURJJrU5/ilagan-l-6NQofchc/?mid=xIDIB1aM"]6-4[/a] Lourence Ilagan[/p][p]Luke Humphries [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/humphries-l-n34VOAWo/saeed-a-IJNowe82/?mid=lxahOvqS"]6-0[/a] Abdulla Saeed[/p][p]Luke Littler [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/lim-p-zTyH3B2p/littler-l-0URN6Xks/?mid=QHhWGdy2"]6-1[/a] Paul Lim[/p][p]Michael van Gerwen [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/toylo-a-SCHc0Vr9/van-gerwen-m-SU4UkKsm/?mid=tCepQ0EF"]6-4[/a] Alexis Toylo[/p][p]Stephen Bunting [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/azemoto-r-0plyQl7d/bunting-s-xANKMtPG/?mid=h4fOII6k"]6-2[/a] Ryusei Azemoto[/p][embed guid="8e96f5d7-88e4-4f85-a7cd-288ecd98a957" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6hQHXIXehc" social-type="youtube" /][h2]Quarter-final draw:[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/littler-l-0URN6Xks/price-g-8dDDoW0B/?mid=2DjfcnOi"]Luke Littler vs Gerwyn Price[/a][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/bunting-s-xANKMtPG/van-gerwen-m-SU4UkKsm/?mid=Ia5N333E"]Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting[/a][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/aspinall-n-KURJJrU5/humphries-l-n34VOAWo/?mid=4r8KFluC"]Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall[/a][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/darts/noppert-d-YmMfGEz0/van-veen-g-jgT1AT29/?mid=hO8a1w34"]Gian van Veen vs Danny Noppert[/a][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/darts/bahrain/bahrain-darts-masters/results/"]Follow the Bahrain Darts Masters with Flashscore[/a].[/b][/p]