Littler was beaten by Luke Humphries in World Darts Championship final but won his first televised match since; Premier League Darts returns to Sky Sports on Thursday February 1 as Cardiff kicks off the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs on May 23
Thursday 18 January 2024 21:31, UK
Luke Littler beat Man Lok Leung 6-3 at the Bahrain Masters in his first televised performance since his sensational run to the final at the World Darts Championship.
It was a nervy start for the teen sensation as he quickly went two legs down and struggled on the doubles but he rallied well, a brilliant 151 checkout giving him a 3-2 lead from which he capitalised.
From there, Littler looked at home on the stage, wrapping up the match in style with a 120 checkout.
Elsewhere, reigning world champion Luke Humphries blew away Abdulla Saeed in a 6-0 drubbing as his period of complete dominance continues, a clinical performance in which he took out 100 per cent on the doubles to set up a quarter-final tie with Gerwyn Price.
Price secured a 6-4 win over Reynaldo Rivera. Despite Rivera taking out a 104 finish to keep the match alive, his miss at tops gave Price the advantage and helped him avoid a deciding leg.
Michael van Gerwen had a similarly impressive night to Humphries as he cruised to a 6-0 win over Hasan Haji with a 103 average, taking the opportunity to bounce back from his shock loss to Scott Williams in the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace.
Reigning Bahrain Darts Master Michael Smith nearly came close to a huge shock exit as he won a 6-5 tussle with- Paolo Nebrida.
Nebrida had darts for the match in the deciding leg but missed his chance, gifting Smith a spot in the quarters.
Peter Wright registered a close 6-5 victory over PDC Asian Championship winner Haruki Muramatsu in the opening match of the night, battling back against a 170 checkout and from 3-2 down to take the spoils.
Fourth seed Nathan Aspinall suffered a huge scare as he sealed a 6-5 win on a 102 checkout over Lourence Ilagan.
Aspinall survived two missed match darts before completing his comeback from 5-3 down to edge out the 2023 PDC Asian Tour number one with the 12-dart leg.
Rob Cross showed his class to take a 6-3 victory over Tomoya Goto, the Japanese star taking three legs in a row to bring the match level at 3-3.
Despite the rally from Goto, Cross stood firm and took the next three legs for the win.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will be played on Friday January 19.
Premier League Darts returns to Sky Sports on Thursday, February 1 as Cardiff kicks off the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs on Thursday, May 23. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW
