Michael van Gerwen will take on local conpetitor, Hasan Haji. If Van Gerwen manages to win his match, he will meet Rob Cross or Tomoya Goto in the second round. Michael Smith and Peter Wright are the other world leaders in this half of the bracket. They meet Paolo Nebrida and Haruki Muramatsu, respectively.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler will make his debut on the World Series circuit against Man Lok Leung. Leung also showed well at the World Darts Championship by surprising Gian van Veen in the first round. Luke Humphries will play his first duel as reigning world champion against Abdulla Saeed. Gerwyn Price crosses swords with Reynaldo Rivera, while Nathan Aspinall faces Lourence Ilagan.
The Bahrain Darts Masters is scheduled for January 18 and 19. The tournament is part of the World Series circuit. Later this year, World Series tournaments will also be played in the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.