Luke Littler suffers shock Bahrain Masters defeat after changing his darts

World number one Luke Littler was beaten 6-2 by Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals of the Bahrain Darts Masters, ending his impressive winning streak since October

Luke Littler suffered his first defeat since clinching his second PDC World Darts Championship earlier this month, bowing out in the quarter-final of the Bahrain Darts Masters. Gerwyn Price, a former world champion himself, toppled ‘The Nuke’, shocking him with a 6-2 victory in the evening’s opening match.

This marks the end of Littler’s remarkable winning streak, which he had maintained since October 2025, with his previous defeat handed by Canadian Matt Campbell. That was a loss in a World Players Championship event, where he reached the third round before an unexpected departure.

Consequently, Littler bids goodbye to a potential £30,000 prize pot up for grabs at the Bahrain Darts Masters, part of an overall £100,000 prize pot. The world number one breezed past Paul Lim in Thursday night’s first round, recording a 6-1 triumph against the 71 year old.

Accompanying that win was the debut of some new darts, with the 18-year-old seen throwing a set featuring a fresh pattern. After penning a massive deal with Target Darts, Littler was spotted with arrows that bore a nuke symbol engraved on them, sparking intrigue among online fans.

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Whilst those fresh arrows helped him navigate the opening round, the world champion appeared somewhat less certain about them early in his clash with Price on Friday afternoon. Following a sluggish beginning and an early break of throw, he promptly returned to his table and reverted to a more conventional arrangement.

However, that switch failed to help him claw his way back into the contest, as Price capitalised with some superb tungsten on show. The Welshman maintained a blistering scoring rhythm with a 97.4 average, but proved particularly deadly on the doubles, departing with a 60% success rate on the outer ring.

It proved a vital victory for Price, who suffered through a torrid 2025 at the board, troubles that spilled over into the PDC World Darts Championship. The 40 year old made a shock departure at Alexandra Palace, falling to Dutchman Wesley Plaisier in the tournament’s second round.

Despite those setbacks, he still secured a spot in the 2026 Premier League roster, which showcases some of the planet’s finest competing against one another weekly. The triumph over Littler will undoubtedly inject some belief into ‘The Iceman’ that his luck can change.

Before his return to Bahrain, Price disclosed he had stepped away from darts briefly, explaining: “I haven’t thrown a dart for many days since I obviously lost at the Worlds. I actually had a week’s holiday. I did take a travel board with me, but it didn’t go on the wall, so I probably should have had a practice.”

Despite this, his game doesn’t seem to have suffered much, with a fantastic opportunity ahead of him to gain momentum in Bahrain. He will face the winner of Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting in the semi-final, with a real chance of securing the golden palm tree trophy and an additional £30,000.

For Littler, he won’t have to wait long to return to action, as he’s set to compete in the Saudi Arabian Darts Masters next week. The event takes place on the 19th and 20th of January, with 14 of the 16 players from Bahrain returning for another shot at the £30,000 prize.

The two Bahrain competitors, Abdulla Saeed and Basem Mahmood, will be replaced by representatives from the Asian tour, Paolo Nebrida and Tomoya Goto.