Nebrida stuns Cross as Humphries Shines in Bahrain
Nebrida stuns Cross as Humphries Shines in Bahrain
Dazzling Luke Humphries and giant-killer Paolo Nebrida made headlines when the PDC World Series of Darts event got underway, and Luke Littler defeated Lourence Ilagan on Thursday to start his defense of the Bahrain Darts Masters title.
Twelve months ago, Littler won his first senior PDC title at the Bahrain International Circuit, where he won a nine-darter along route to gold.
The new World Champion made a successful comeback to action in his first appearance since earning the biggest championship in the sport at Alexandra Palace two weeks prior.
Ilagan, the winner of the PDC Asian Championship, however, gave Littler some anxiety after overcoming a 3-1 deficit to fall behind 4-3 in their first-round match.
However, the 17-year-old put an end to the comeback with a graceful 142 checkout, and won 6-3 to go to the finals on Friday.
“It felt good and I’m just happy to get past that first game,” said Littler. “I played alright in patches and did the right things at the right time.
“It would mean the world to come back and retain this title. I know it will be a long night tomorrow but I’ll be up for it.”
Littler now faces Gerwyn Price, who started his challenge in Bahrain by defeating Hong Kong’s Lok Yin Lee 6-3.
“I tried some different flights and longer points today and stuck with it until the end, but I’ll go back to normal tomorrow,” Price added, acknowledging that he had experimented with a new darts setup for his first round match.
“I tried something different and it didn’t work, but I won – I’ve always stuck with the same set-up from day one, and I think if you want to try and find that extra 5-10% you have to change things up.
“I’m going to go back to what I know best and I’ll be confident with the darts – but I think all the pressure’s on Luke; he’s the World Champion and world number two.
“He’s probably expected to win but I’m here to upset the party!”

Meanwhile, Nebrida defeated world number four Rob Cross 6-3 to become the first Filipino celebrity to triumph on the World Series stage.
After taking the lead early on, the PDC Asian Tour player led 2-0 and 3-1 before finishing with a crucial 116 to seal the win.
“I’m proud to win and I know there’s more to come,” said Nebrida. “I felt good but Rob is a tough player. The 116 was important and when my first dart goes in, I have a chance.”

Nebrida stuns Cross as Humphries Shines in Bahrain
With a faultless exhibition of finishing, Luke Humphries defeated Bahraini qualifier Abdulla Saeed in just 11 minutes and 10 seconds.
With a 103.66 average, world number one Humphries defeated the local star for the second year in a row, taking out 151, 100, and 144 to start his quest for a second World Series championship.
“I felt really good,” reflected Humphries. “It’s nice to be back playing – obviously I was gutted to lose the game against Peter in the World Championship but I didn’t let it affect me too much.
“I understood that it was over for me, and Luke was a fantastic winner – he deserved it. I put myself on the practice board after a couple of days and I feel good in my game.
“It’s a great start, I was quite clinical but it’s just one game. I’ve never won that second game in Bahrain before so I want to go that little bit further.
“I’m still the world number one and that means a lot to me, so I still have to play like a world number one and I still have to perform like a world number one. That makes it important for me to go on and perform and play at my best.”Humphries will now play Nathan Aspinall in the quarterfinals after the Stockport star defeated Chinese number one Xaiochen Zong 6-2 despite having an inflamed elbow in his throwing arm.
After losing the opening round, Aspinall rallied for five legs, concluding with a 12-darter and a 112 checkout to guarantee his place in Friday’s competition.
Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting, who each smashed six doubles from eight tries in their impressive debut victories in Bahrain, will face one other in the quarterfinals.
Before Dobey easily defeated Bahrain’s Basem Mahmood with a 112 checkout and finishes of 84 and 83 on the bull, Bunting pulled out 145 and 122 to defeat Indian number one Nitin Kumar 6-2.
“It felt good,” said Dobey. “I played well and my doubles were going in, so I’m happy. I’m delighted to be here and hopefully I can keep performing like this.”
Reigning Masters champion Bunting admitted: “It was a bit nervy to be honest. I know Nitin quite well so I knew I had a difficult game, I was ready for it and thankfully I got over the line.
“I felt like I played really well there and I’ll be ready to go for tomorrow. I’m riding the crest of a wave at the minute and I feel like I’m playing the best darts of my life, so I need to keep doing what I’m doing and keep trying to improve.”
Another player to repel a comeback was Peter Wright. Alexis Toylo rallied from a 5-1 deficit to cut the deficit to 5-3 before a 160 checkout propelled the two-time World Champion into the quarterfinals

2025 Bahrain Darts Masters Results
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
Semi-Finals
Humphries/Aspinall v Bunting/Dobey
Littler/Price v Nebrida/Wright
Best of 13 legs
Final
v
Best of 15 legs