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Luke Littler Bahrain Darts Masters

Nine-Dart Littler Wins On World Series Debut

Alex Moss |

A Week In Darts – January 22, 2024 – Nine-Dart Littler Wins In Bahrain

The PDC’s top stars were back in action at the Bahrain Darts Masters and once again it was teenager Luke Littler who grabbed all the headlines. Read our round-up of the first World Series of Darts event of 2024, along with all the rest of last week’s action in the latest ‘A Week in Darts’.

NINE-DART HERO LITTLER WINS THE BAHRAIN DARTS MASTERS

It was a World Series of Darts debut to remember for Luke Littler who won the Bahrain Darts Masters to clinch his first PDC senior title.

The recent PDC World Darts Championship finalist beat three of the world’s top five players and threw a nine-dart leg on his way to lifting the trophy at the Bahrain International Circuit.

After beating Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung in the opening round, the teenager started the final day on Friday in style with a perfect leg against Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals.

Littler, who turned 17 on Sunday, averaged 104.50 in beating Aspinall 6-3, before a 170 finish helped him to a 7-3 triumph over Gerwyn Price to book a place in the final.

An 8-5 victory against Michael van Gerwen in the decider sealed the first senior title within the PDC ranks for ‘The Nuke’ in his first tournament since reaching the final at Alexandra Palace earlier this month.

“I’m just very happy to win,” Littler said. “I’ve played well last night and I’ve played well again tonight. I’ve proven that I’ve got the ability to win.

“I’ve not picked a dart up since the World Championship final so I wasn’t expecting anything, but I’ve won all my games, hit the nine-darter against Nathan and got over the line against a very good Michael van Gerwen.

“He is still one of the best if not the best, but I am just so happy to win on my debut.”

The World Series of Darts continues this weekend with the Dutch Darts Masters taking place in Den Bosch from January 26-27.

TITLES SHARED ON THE FIRST CHALLENGE TOUR WEEKEND

The 2024 PDC Challenge Tour season got under way in Milton Keynes at the weekend with five different winners across the five events.

On Friday, the 1995 BDO world champion Richie Burnett and former PDC title winner Danny Jansen claimed the first two titles of the weekend.

The duo both lost their PDC tour cards at the end of last season, but bounced back with tournament wins at the Marshall Arena.

Saturday’s action saw two more winners as Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak picked up his first Challenge Tour title, before Swiss ace Stefan Bellmont doubled his career tally of event wins on the PDC’s secondary tour.

The fifth and final event of the weekend took place on Sunday and was won by Aden Kirk, who followed up his pair of Development Tour titles in 2015 and 2016 with a first success on the Challenge Tour.

Jansen sits at the top of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit after the first weekend with £4,575, with Bellmont in second on £3,450. The top two players at the end of the season will both secure a two-year PDC tour card and a spot in the PDC World Darts Championship.

SHERROCK QUALIFIES FOR THE LAKESIDE

Fallon Sherrock has qualified for the 2024 WDF Women’s World Championship after winning the Las Vegas Open at the weekend.

‘The Queen of the Palace’ reached the final at Lakeside back in 2015, before bringing worldwide attention to the game with a run to the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship four years later.

By winning the gold-ranked Las Vegas Open, Sherrock has secured an automatic spot at Lakeside in December.

The former PDC Women’s World Matchplay winner has not competed in the Women’s World Championship since 2019.

Beau Greaves has won the last two stagings of Lakeside in 2022 and 2023 to become a two-time world champion at the age of 19.

Players who qualify for both the PDC and WDF World Championships have to choose between the two events, with Greaves turning down her spot at Alexandra Palace and instead going to Lakeside to try and defend her world title.

Meanwhile, Luke Littler, who had qualified for the men’s and boy’s events at Lakeside, opted for the PDC’s showpiece instead and enjoyed a history-making run all the way to the final.

Pictures: PDC

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