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Luke Littler makes winning return in first match since World Darts Championship at Bahrain Masters

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

Luke Littler overcame early nerves to secure a first televised win since his run at the World Championships
Image: Luke Littler overcame early nerves to secure a first televised win since his run at the World Championships

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.

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Highlights of the 2024 World Darts Championship final between world No 1 Luke Humphries and teenage sensation Luke Littler

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.

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Take a look back at the breathtaking debut from Luke Littler as the teenager made history at the World Darts Championship

Reigning Bahrain Darts Master Michael Smith nearly came close to a huge shock exit as he won a 6-5 tussle with- Paolo Nebrida.

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Nebrida had darts for the match in the deciding leg but missed his chance, gifting Smith a spot in the quarters.

Quarter-finals

Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price
Michael Smith v Peter Wright
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Littler
Michael van Gerwen v Rob Cross

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.

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Luke Humphries says he would love to add the Premier League title to his list of honours in 2024.

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

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