Luke Littler and Danny Noppert

Bahrain Darts Masters 2026: Darts predictions, betting tips and preview for the ITV4-televised event in Bahrain

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Fri January 16, 2026 · 2w ago

The ITV4-televised Bahrain Darts Masters takes place from Thursday to Friday and our Chris Hammer brings you his preview and tips.

Darts betting tips: Bahrain Darts Masters

2pts each-way Danny Noppert to win the Bahrain Darts Masters at 14/1 (General 1/3, 1,2)

1pt First-round handicap acca: Ilagan (+2.5), Toylo (+2.5) and Sakai (+2.5) all to win at 14/1 (Paddy Power)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Eight stars of the PDC are out in Bahrain for the first World Series event of 2026 but darts fans are probably more excited to see two of the Asian representatives in the 16-player line-up.

The first of those needs no introduction and there's no doubt that even Luke Littler will be quaking in his boots to face him in the opening round having avoided being drawn against him at the World Championship.

Love how Luke Littler picks out 71-year-old Paul Lim as one of the two players he wants to avoid in the draw. What a match that would be... pic.twitter.com/XKCycA5ygF
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) November 24, 2025

There will be a 53-year age gap between the world champion and Paul Lim when they take to the stage and regardless of the result - which you'd expect to be heavily one-sided despite what our hearts are hoping for - it's going to be an absolute treat to watch.

And then we have a player who become one of the most memorable Ally Pally cult heroes of all time back in December with his iconic walk-ons and unforgettable showmanship.

Everything about Motomu Sakai is Box Office - even the look on his opponent's faces 🤣pic.twitter.com/hLCNZ1yCmj
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) December 20, 2025

If you could have hand picked an opponent for Motomu Sakai you'd have probably gone for Gerwyn Price and thankfully that's what we've got to look forward to on Thursday evening.

Sakai was far from just a comedy act, however, and the standards he produced at the Ally Pally means Price will have to be on his guard to ensure he joins the rest of the big guns in the quarter-finals.

Motomu Sakai dressed as a Christmas Tree revealing that he got into darts to impress women 🤣.

How can anyone not love this sport pic.twitter.com/u4hkTbHtBc
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) December 20, 2025

Bahrain Darts Masters Draw

Format: First and second rounds best of 11 legs, semi-finals best of 13 legs, final best of 15 legs

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

Alexis Toylo and Lourence Ilagan are capable of making life difficult for Michael van Gerwen and Nathan Aspinall but apart from that I can't really see any scares so let's now focus on who will lift the trophy.

Well, the short answer is that it'll probably be Littler, even over the shorter format which in theory makes him more vulnerable than at the big majors.

However, his numbers are just so consistently staggering no matter what the occasion that it's just so hard to build a viable case against him. He's operating at similar levels that we saw from Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen in their prime years.

🤯 Luke Littler's tournament winning averages for his 10 major titles are incredible. Only Phil Taylor and MVG managed this so regularly. pic.twitter.com/LsIukdkFU1
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 3, 2026

Luke Littler's second world title means he now has TEN major titles in just two years! That puts him fourth on the all-time list 🤯🤯

Taylor - 79
MVG - 48
Wade - 11
Littler - 10 pic.twitter.com/ow10cJMKIc
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 3, 2026

However, if someone like Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen or even Stephen Bunting can produce their A* game when he's slightly off his, then the door becomes open and I feel the best value selection is Danny Noppert at 16/1.

I tipped Noppie at 50/1 each-way to win the world title because of how he'd found new levels to his game in 2025, particularly on the bigger stages.

Noppie reached four semi-finals at the World Masters, World Grand Prix, European Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts, with three of those runs being ended by Humphries and the other by Littler.

His scoring power is becoming a real weapon for him, with his 180 hitting now right up there with the most prolific on the circuit and the combination of his soaring confidence and ice cool demeanour is going to see him challenge for a lot more titles in the coming months and years.

Although he crashed out before Christmas to the unseeded Justin Hood, it was a freakishly great match that neither player deserved to lose.

That is an extraordinary leg of darts between Danny Noppert and Justin Hood!pic.twitter.com/TwJXke7Xty
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) December 23, 2025

That was an absolutely ridiculous game of darts!!!!

An incredible win for Justin Hood but Danny Noppert was awesome too 👏👏pic.twitter.com/zB7SwrVIPO
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) December 23, 2025

Noppert must have got home and wondered what he'd done to deserve such a ridiculously tough match so early in the competition and I genuinely believe if he'd come through it, he'd have seriously challenged to reach the final from the bottom half of the draw.

It's become increasingly clear that Noppert is really working on his stage presence and making a lot of fans take notice of him more than ever before, and he was extremely close to Premier League inclusion until that agonising defeat to Hood.

This will give him extra motivation and hunger to make a fast start to 2026 and will be a nightmare for anyone in the bottom half including World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen, Aspinall and world number two Luke Humphries.

We'll probably have to be happy to take the each-way payout if he comes up against Littler in the final, but you never know!