Luke Littler will begin his defense of the Bahrain Darts Masters against PDC Asian champion Lawrence Ilagan as he prepares for his first outing as world champion on Thursday night.
The last time Littler met the Filipino in November, the roof was almost raised in Wolverhampton at the Grand Slam of Darts as the teenager failed to hit nine darts, missing double 12 in a 5-3 eventual victory.
Littler marked his arrival on the world stage with nine darts en route to victory in Bahrain last year, defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final to triumph on his World Series debut.
Having also beaten Van Gerwen to lift the legendary Sid Waddell Trophy at Alexandra Palace on January 3, the teenage sensation will be back in action against the enigmatic Ilagan.
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Littler intentionally leaves the big fish behind, but Ilagan had other plans!
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Emma Paton, Mark Webster and Richard Ashdown discuss whether Littler can break Phil Taylor's World Darts record of 16 titles
World No.1 Luke Humphries will begin his campaign against local qualifier Abdulla Saeed as he bids to get back to winning ways following his exit in the last 16 at the World Darts Championship.
Humphries won 6-0 when the pair met at the same stage of last year's tournament and he will be hoping for a repeat performance as he maintains his ever-present record in Bahrain.
Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey will feature among the PDC's eight representatives this week, with the debutants taking on Nitin Kumar and Basem Mahmood.
Reigning Masters champion Bunting climbed to a career-high ranking of fifth world No.5 after reaching the semi-finals of the World Championships, and will bow out in Bahrain against India's Prime Minister Kumar.
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Check out some of the highlights from this year's World Darts Championship, including Littler's record set, several Barriokes and two nine-darts
Meanwhile, Dobey, also a semi-finalist at Alexandra Palace, faces Bahrain's Mahmoud for a place in the quarter-finals as he prepares to compete in his first global World Series tournament.
2018 World Champion Rob Cross faces a tough test against Paolo Nebrida, who defeated Jim Williams and Ross Smith to reach the third round of the World Championship.
Elsewhere, 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price takes on Hong Kong's Lok Yin Lee and 2023 World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall takes on China's PDC Champion Xiaochen Zong.
Peter Wright completes the eight-man PDC line-up. The two-time world champion will begin his campaign against PDC Asian Tour 2024 Order of Merit winner Alexis Toylo.
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Highlights of Littler vs Michael van Gerwen in World Darts Final
Littler: If I want Taylor's record, I can beat it
Littler has been on a meteoric rise since his sensational run to the World Championship final in January 2024 and has won 10 titles in his first year on the professional circuit by winning the biggest prize of all at the second time of asking.
The young star believes he “has the ability” to break Phil 'The Power' Taylor's astonishing record of 16 world titles.
“Deep down, if I want to try to break the record then I'm sure I have the ability to do it,” Littler said.
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Littler reflected on his first win at the World Darts Championship and shared his aspirations to break Taylor's record
“If I want to, I'm sure I'll do it. I just need to move on. The calendar is stacked throughout the year.
“I've said in previous interviews, if I win every major title in my career I'll be happy, but obviously I'd like to add to the world titles.”
Watch Premier League Darts 2025 live on Sky Sports every Thursday from February 6 or stream from NOW.