WORLD champion Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler has explained why he will be throwing a new set of darts when he competes in the Bahrain Masters later today.

The Warrington 17-year-old will be making his first appearance since lifting the iconic Sid Waddell Trophy when he triumphed in the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace earlier this month.

Littler headlines the two-day event - which starts today and concludes tomorrow - as the sport's biggest names return to The Dome at the Bahrain International Circuit for the third staging of the World Series of Darts event.

Today's first round pits eight PDC superstars against eight Asian representatives, which includes two local qualifiers and six players from the Asian Tour who competed at the recent World Darts Championship.

UK viewers can watch live coverage on ITV4 and ITVX.

Littler marked his arrival on the World Series stage with a nine-darter on his way to victory at last year's Bahrain Darts Masters, as he claimed the unique date palm trophy to triumph on his World Series debut.

The teenager then went on to win the Premier League, World Series Finals and Grand Slam of Darts in 2024, before capping off a fairy-tale year by becoming the youngest ever world champion.

He will begin his defence of the title against PDC Asian Champion Lourence Ilagan, and the teenage sensation is relishing his first outing as world champion.

"I've got a brand new set of darts for tomorrow," revealed Littler, who beat Ilagan on his way to victory at the Grand Slam of Darts in November.

"I'm not going to throw with the darts I won the world championship with - they're going to be in a frame, so now it's about breaking in a new set.

"I can't wait for when John McDonald calls me out for the first time as world champion.

"I had a tough game against Lourence at the Grand Slam, and I cannot wait to get back on stage now. It feels good to be back and hopefully I can win.

"I think every player wants to kick off this year by winning here in Bahrain, and retaining my title would be a great present going into my 18th birthday!"

> READ: The new challenge facing Luke 'The Nuke' Littler

Littler, whose birthday is next Tuesday, is joined in this year’s £100,000 event by seven other top PDC stars - led by world number one Luke Humphries, who won the World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay and Players Championship Finals in 2024.

Humphries was unable to retain his world championship crown at Alexandra Palace, but he will have the opportunity to bounce back when he takes on local qualifier Abdulla Saeed for a place in the quarter-finals.

“It’s always great to be back here in Bahrain,” claimed Humphries, who swept aside Saeed at the same stage of last year’s tournament.

“I'm really looking forward to this event. We have a great field of players here, and I can't wait for my first game.

“It’s been a great couple of years for myself. I had a little bit of heartbreak at the world championship, but I've had a good break, and I would love to kick off 2025 in perfect fashion by winning this title."

World championship semi-finalists Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey make their Bahrain bows, as they face India’s Nitin Kumar and Bahrain’s number one Basem Mahmood respectively.

Dobey - a winner of three PDC titles in 2024 - is featuring in his first global World Series of Darts event, and he could meet reigning Masters champion Bunting in the quarter-finals on Friday evening.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Dobey. "It's a new occasion for myself and I'm just going to hopefully let my darts do the talking. I'm full of confidence and hopefully I can kick-start the year with a win."

Former world champions Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price have been pitted against Paolo Nebrida and Lok Yin Lee respectively, both of whom impressed at the World Darts Championship.

Nebrida dumped out Jim Williams and Ross Smith to become the first Filipino to reach the third round at Alexandra Palace, while Hong Kong’s Lee advanced to the second round on his debut in the capital.

Elsewhere, Stockport star Nathan Aspinall begins his challenge against PDC China champion Xiaochen Zong, with a clash against world number one Humphries potentially awaiting the winner in the last eight.

"I'm really happy to be back in Bahrain," said Aspinall. "It would be amazing to win - it's been quite a while since I won a World Series event but I've got quite a tough first game so we'll see what happens."

Two-time world champion Peter Wright completes the line-up of PDC superstars in Bahrain, having ended Humphries’ reign at Ally Pally during his resurgent run to the quarter-finals of the sport's biggest event earlier this month.

“It was nice to show the world I could still play darts,” insisted Wright, who will take on PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Alexis Toylo in tonight’s penultimate first round tie

“I believe there is plenty more to come from me this year, and I’ll have time to rest and be fresher for the floor tournaments and the European Tour away from the Premier League.

“I will take a leaf out of the Rob Cross book. He wasn’t in the Premier League and for two years he worked hard and all the results came. That’s why he’s now fourth in the world!”

Following today's first round, the 2025 Bahrain Darts Masters concludes tomorrow, as the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final take place in one bumper session.

2025 Bahrain Darts Masters draw bracket:

(1) Luke Humphries v Abdulla Saeed

Nathan Aspinall v Xiaochen Zong

(4) Stephen Bunting v Nitin Kumar

Chris Dobey v Basem Mahmood

(2) Luke Littler v Lourence Ilagan

Gerwyn Price v Lok Yin Lee

(3) Rob Cross v Paolo Nebrida

Peter Wright v Alexis Toylo

Bahrain Darts Masters schedule of play

Thursday, January 16 (2000 local time, 1700 GMT)

First Round x8

Rob Cross v Paolo Nebrida – 5pm (UK time)

Gerwyn Price v Lok Yin Lee – 5.30pm

Stephen Bunting v Nitin Kumar – 6pm

Chris Dobey v Basem Mahmood – 6.30pm

Luke Humphries v Abdulla Saeed – 7pm

Luke Littler v Lourence Ilagan – 7.30pm

Peter Wright v Alexis Toylo – 8pm

Nathan Aspinall v Xiaochen Zong – 8.30pm

Friday January 17 (1900 local time, 1600 GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Semi-Finals

Final

Bahrain Darts Masters format:

First Round - Best of 11 legs

Quarter-Finals - Best of 11 legs

Semi-Finals - Best of 13 legs

Final - Best of 15 legs

Bahrain Darts Masters prize fund:

Winner - £30,000

Runner-Up - £16,000

Semi-Finalists - £10,000

Quarter-Finalists - £5,000

First Round Losers - £1,750

Total - £100,000

Bahrain Darts Masters roll of honour:

2023 - Michael Smith

2024 - Luke Littler

Bahrain Darts Masters nine-darters:

2024 - Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall, Quarter-Finals

2025 World Series of Darts Schedule:

Bahrain Darts Masters, January 16-17, Bahrain International Circuit

Dutch Darts Masters, January 24-25, Maaspoort, Den Bosch

Nordic Darts Masters, June 6-7, Forum Copenhagen

US Darts Masters, June 27-28, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York

Poland Darts Masters, July 4-5, PreZero Arena, Gliwice

Australian Darts Masters, August 8-9, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

New Zealand Darts Masters, August 15-16, Spark Arena, Auckland