Luke Littler, Gian Van Veen and Luke Humphries have been handed their first round matches in this year’s Bahrain Darts Masters, in the first event of the 2026 World Series of Darts.

World champion Littler has been handed an eye-catching tie against 71-year-old Paul Lim to headline the first round, in a clash of youth against experience.

Second seed Gian Van Veen will be looking for revenge in his match against Man Lok Leung of Hong Kong – the two faced off at Alexandra Palace in 2023, when Leung completed a stunning 3-2 win from three sets down to knock Van Veen out of the World Championship.

Michael van Gerwen faces PDC Asian tour winner Alexis Toylo, whilst Gerwyn Price takes on fan-favourite Motomu Sakai after the Japanese player made his World Championship debut last month.

Humphries faces Bahrain’s Abdulla Saeed, and reigning champion Stephen Bunting faces two-time World Championship qualifier Ryusei Azemoto among other ties.

2026 Bahrain Masters schedule

First round – Thursday 15 January – Best of 11 legs

Gerwyn Price v Motomu Sakai
Gian van Veen v Man Lok Leung
Danny Noppert v Basem Mahmood
Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan
Luke Humphries v Abdulla Saeed
Luke Littler v Paul Lim
Michael van Gerwen v Alexis Toylo
Stephen Bunting v Ryusei Azemoto

Quarter-Finals – Friday 16 January – Best of 11 legs
Littler/Lim v Price/Sakai
Van Gerwen/Toylo v Bunting/Azemoto
Humphries/Saeed v Aspinall/Ilagan
Van Veen/Leung v Noppert/Mahmood

Semi-Finals
Best of 13 legs

Final
Best of 15 legs

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