DARTS – TEENAGE darts sensation Luke Littler is back in Bahrain – but this time as the newly crowned world champion.
The 17-year-old earlier this month became the youngest-ever winner of the world darts championship at Alexandra Palace in London, England.
He will now be making his first competitive appearance since that historic success in the 2025 Bahrain Darts Masters, taking place today and tomorrow at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
The kingdom’s highly anticipated Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event is where it all began for the Warrington, Cheshire native, who turns 18 on Tuesday next week. Littler made his PDC tour debut in last year’s competition in Bahrain, and he did so in style, throwing a stunning and rare nine-darter en route to capturing the coveted crown.
It was only the first of multiple tournament triumphs in an incredible 2024 for Littler at the highest level of the game, and despite it all, he remains hungry to add “many more titles” and break “loads of records” – starting this weekend at BIC.
“As world champion, people may say I’ll stop, but I just want to keep going,” Littler told the GDN yesterday in an exclusive interview. “The world championship title is there, but for us players and for myself, I know I’m in the game for many more years.
“It was a good first year, and I want to back it up and win many more titles this year. There are loads of records to be broken, and if I want it deep down, I’m sure I’ll carry on for 20, 25 years.
“But now I’m just looking at the next year and the next tournament that’s to come.”
Littler is upbeat heading into this weekend’s darts spectacle, which marks the opening round of the 2025 PDC World Series of Darts. He is determined to win back the crown he memorably clinched in 2024, when he defeated three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen 8-5 in an exciting final, played best-out-of-15 legs.
“It feels good to be back – it doesn’t feel like it was a year ago when we were last here,” said Littler, who went on to also win the Premier League Darts title and the Grand Slam of Darts in 2024.
“My first title of 2024 was won here, so hopefully I can start this year off as well with the world championship and retaining my title in Bahrain.
“It was not only my debut in the world series but also my first title in the PDC.
“Coming here after the loss to Luke (Humphries) in the (2024) world championship, I didn’t throw many darts leading up to Bahrain, but I’d like to win the title again and kick start 2025.”
Littler hasn’t let his accomplishments get the better of him, as he remains determined to continue working hard and staying focused on his performance whenever he steps up to the oche.
“It’s just a case of getting used to busy schedules, knowing what I’m doing each day, whether it’s media or practice,” he said. “I’ve been getting used to it. Obviously, the practice paid off last year, and hopefully I can win many more titles this year.”
Littler is pleased to see his success make an impact amongst players around the world, especially the youth, who have taken a greater interest in playing darts – thus providing a major boost to the game.
“It’s crazy to see the amount of not only youngsters but also older players getting back into the game, but especially with the younger generation – not only back over in the UK but it is also worldwide now,” he said.
Looking ahead to today’s start of play in the 2025 Bahrain Darts Masters, Littler is excited about being introduced for the first time as world champion.
“The walkout is going to be amazing,” he said. “That’s what all players want – to be welcomed to the stage as the newly crowned world champion.”
Littler is one of eight PDC professionals who will be taking on eight Asian representatives in the competition’s opening phase this evening.
Amongst the other major international stars taking to the stage at BIC are world number one and 2024 world champion
Humphries, former world champions Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, and Peter Wright, popular star Nathan Aspinall, and first-time Bahrain participants Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey; while the continental standouts include Bahraini qualifiers Basem Mahmood and Abdulla Saeed, PDC Asian champion Lourence Ilagan, his fellow-Filipinos Alexis Toylo and Paolo Nebrida, Chinese number one Xiaochen Zong, Hong Kong’s Lok Yin Lee, and top Indian star Nitin Kumar.
“The first round in any competition is not easy – nothing’s easy in the PDC, but for us it’s going to be a good first round of the games,” said Littler.
“I hope to enjoy my time here. When it comes to darts, that’s when all of us have got to switch it on, and, for myself, I can’t wait to get back on stage.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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