Luke Humphries fell short when defending his World Darts Championship title but he could get right back to winning ways at the Bahrain Darts Masters.
Luke Littler returns to the scene of his first senior PDC title from just 12 months ago and while the Nuke has had a meteoric rise recently, there is not much juice in the price for him to follow up his world title win at Alexandra Palace from earlier this month.
He and Humphries are joined by six other members of the PDC elite, while there are also six Asian invitees and two local Bahrain qualifiers to round off the 16-strong field for this first event of the 2025 World Series of Darts.
Luke Humphries to win - 3/1
Luke Humphries and Luke Littler have come to dominate the betting markets in PDC events, and with good reason. The two stars have been by far the most consistent players over the last 12 months and head the betting for the Bahrain Darts Masters too.
The absence of Michael van Gerwen from this event means that the two Lukes are even shorter than they would be if the Dutchman had featured.
Cool Hand was dumped out of the World Darts Championship by a resurgent Peter Wright, losing 4-1 to Snakebite in the fourth round as he relinquished his grip on the title.
That should not detract from what was a remarkable 2024 for Humphries, who reached the final of six PDC majors in the calendar year.
The 29-year-old won the World Darts Championship, World Matchplay and Players Championship Finals and was a runner-up in the UK Open, the Premier League and the World Grand Prix.
He also lifted the title at the German Darts Grand Prix, Czech Darts Open, the World Cup and New Zealand Darts Masters.
Littler is deservedly favourite for this tournament but Humphries is the standout contender in the top half of the draw and should be able to easily make it to at least the semi-finals.
He faces local qualifier Abdulla Saeed in his opener before a likely quarter-final clash with Nathan Aspinall, who he has beaten in five of their last seven meetings.
The difference in prices between Littler and Humphries looks too big, particularly as Cool Hand has also won five of his last seven meetings with the Nuke.
Take the world number one to kickstart 2025 in impressive fashion with a success in Bahrain.
Gerwyn Price to win - 15/2
Littler dominates the bottom half of the Bahrain Darts Masters draw but Gerwyn Price could be a solid alternative in the each-way betting.
The Iceman seemed to have the fight back in his World Darts Championship campaign, where he reached the quarter-finals before falling 5-3 to Chris Dobey.
Price put in some solid performances in the World Series tournaments last year, winning the Nordic Darts Masters and Australian Darts Masters, as well as finishing runner-up in the US Darts Masters.
On his day, the Welshman is one of the best players of the last decade and has reportedly rediscovered his passion for the game after a few tough years.
He reached the final of the Bahrain Darts Masters in its inaugural season, losing 8-6 to Michael Smith in the final, and he could be set for another impressive showing this time around.
Price could be worth chancing at an each-way price to outrun his odds in this event.
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Luke Littler - 11/8
Luke Humphries - 3/1
Gerwyn Price - 15/2
Stephen Bunting - 10/1
Rob Cross - 11/1
Chris Dobey - 12/1
Nathan Aspinall - 14/1
Peter Wright - 18/1
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.