Luke Littler and Paul Lim made history with age gap in Bahrain Darts Masters opener
PDCFriday, 16 January 2026 at 18:00
While it wasn't the result Paul Lim would've been hoping for in a bit of a dismal thrashing, he made more history again at the Bahrain Darts Masters alongside Luke Littler on Thursday night.
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In facing off against Littler, it was the largest age gap between two players in a televised match. There was a 53 year age gap between the 18-year-old World No.1 and the 71-year-old darts legend who faced off in the first round.
In addition to this in a remarkable feat, Lim made his debut at the BDO World Darts Championship in 1982 which was before Littler's mum was even born. Littler also makes history in general as the youngest ever World No.1 and World Champion in the sport's history.
He will turn 19 on Wednesday just a day after the conclusion of the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters which forms part of the next World Series of Darts tournament. He and Lim could feasibly meet again in Riyadh with the first round being played on Monday.
Not a chance Littler plays for as long
Albeit when asked post his opener in Sakhir whether he would play for as long as Lim, he was unequivocally clear that he wouldn't be. “Not a chance. I’ll say it now.”
“Obviously the World Championship would have been a different breed. The fans, he’s a fan favourite. But it was the same tonight. When he got his first leg, made it 1-1, I just had to kick on and get the win.”
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“Paul’s doing well. He’s been doing well for many, many years. Obviously very good soft tip player and then he brings it over with the proper points. He’s just class. I wonder when he’s going to retire, but he’s still going very strong in the practice room as well.”
His second match didn't go as well with Gerwyn Price demolished Littler in one of his first losses in TV in some time as 'The Iceman' rose to the occasion to seal a much needed win after The Nuke had most of their Head to Head after a long term dominance from the Welshman. A streak of 21 straight wins stretching back 83 days over.
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Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
- I'm sick of everything wanting paying for ad free stuff,every site you go on,it's pay pay for no ads. I mostly dread picking my phone up,as it's subscription required. I'm not surprised I'm bloody skint. Everyone wants to rob you for services that were freerick6714-08-2026
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