LUKE LITTLER is OUT of the Bahrain Masters after being stunned 6-2 by Gerwyn Price.
The PDC World Champion, 17, was defending his title but fell at the quarter-final stage.
Luke Littler was knocked out of the Bahrain Masters by Gerwyn PriceTwitter
GettyThe Nuke was unable to cope with The Iceman, who threw a remarkable 115.3 average[/caption]
GettyPrice will now face either Paolo Nebrida or Peter Wright in the last four[/caption]
Price averaged a remarkable 115.3 as he took down The Nuke in emphatic fashion.
The Iceman was lethal at the oche, hitting 60 per cent on his doubles and throwing seven 180s.
Price also missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish as he stunned the 17-year-old sensation.
It was a third win in a row for Price over Littler following his successes in New York and Wollongong.
Littler had come through his first-round match yesterday 6-3 against Lourence Ilagan.
But he admitted he was rusty after not throwing any darts since his world title triumph on January 3 against Michael van Gerwen.
He said after that match: “There weren’t any nerves. A bit of rust. A fresh set of darts.
“The ones I won the World Championship with are getting put away in a frame.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
“It’s very hard to break in a new set of darts. I played alright in patches.
“There were some bad patches there. I did the right things at the right time and punished him.”
Little will be gutted to fall to Price, saying earlier this week: “It would mean the world to retain this trophy.”
His next assignment on the oche will be the Dutch Darts Masters in the Holland city of Den Bosch on January 24-25.
Littler’s first of 11 PDC titles came in this tournament 12 months ago.
He has since gone on to earn more than £1million in prize money, including a £500,000 cheque at Ally Pally earlier this month.
Luke Littler prize money breakdown
Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after being crowned 2025 PDC World Darts Championship winner:
World Championship 2025 – £500,000
World Championship 2024 – £200,000
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 – £150,000
European Tour – £91,000
Player Championships events – £71,500
Players Championship final runner-up – £60,000
UK Open 2023 + 2024 – £17,500
World Matchplay – £10,000
World Grand Prix – £7,500
European Championship – £7,500
(Unranked) Premier League Darts – £315,000
TOTAL: £1.43 million
Earlier in the day’s play, fan favourite Stephen Bunting dispatched Chris Dobey 6-0 with a dominant display.
Bunting will now face World No. 1 Luke Humphries in the semi-finals.
While Price plays the winner of this evening’s clash between Paolo Nebrida and Peter Wright.
Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
