By Brad Williams
The second and final day of the 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters commenced this evening after all eight PDC representatives safely progressed past yesterdays first round. The quarterfinals, semi-finals and final all took place so here is what happened:
Quarter Finals-
Luke Littler vs Gerwyn Price
Result: Luke Littler (94.04) 2-6 Gerwyn Price (97.43)
A tasty affair on paper saw World Champion Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price kick off the afternoon session. Littler held his throw in a close opening leg of the contest which saw both players have a chance to win it. Price then went through the gears as he reeled off the following five legs, taking out two ton plus finishes against Littler, who struggled to get any consistency going with his scoring.
‘The Nuke’ managed to stop the rot by getting his second leg of the game on the board, before Price wrapped up a comprehensive victory, by pinning the double ten to win 6-2 to send the tournament favourite home. ‘The Iceman’ finished the contest with an impressive 60% success rate on the outer circle.
Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting
Result: Michael van Gerwen (97.92) 6-4 Stephen Bunting (98.45)
The defending Bahrain Darts Masters Champion got off to an electric start as he immediately broke the throw of MvG, before holding throw himself to race to a 2-0 lead. Van Gerwen got himself off the mark to half the deficit after Bunting missed the bull in a crucial leg. MvG secured a valuable break back to level the contest at 2-2, once again after Bunting wired an attempt on the double eight to take out a 127.
‘Mighty Mike’ won his third consecutive leg to lead the game for the first time, but ‘The Bullet’ fired back to once again level the back-and Forth contest. Sixteen missed attempts on the outer circle proved costly for Bunting, as Van Gerwen continuously punished him to win the match 6-4, and guaranteed that we see a new champion this year.
Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall
Result: Luke Humphries (100.86) 3-6 Nathan Aspinall (104.43)
Former World Champion Luke Humphries held his throw in the opening leg with a brilliant 95 finish ending on two double 19’s, despite good Aspinall pressure. ‘The Asp’ responded excellently by taking out 95, before Humphries continued the excellent doubling display when he took out 121 to lead 2-1. It took until the sixth leg of the contest before a double was finally missed as both players had had failed attempts on the outer circle, before Aspinall rallied to bring the game back to 3-3.
Aspinall continued his momentum winning his third and fourth legs on the spin to go within one of victory. Aspinall closed out a superb performance, where he averaged over 104, and hit 6/10 of his double attempts, while reeling off the final five legs of the game to dump out the former world number one.
Gian van Veen vs Danny Noppert
Result: Gian van Veen (104.31) 6-1 Danny Noppert (106.47)
A clash between Dutch World Cup teammates was the final quarterfinals game of the afternoon and saw the opening three legs go with throw after a steady start from both players. After van Veen went 3-1 up in legs, a break in the action took place as the power in the venue appeared to go off, leaving the arena in darkness- not something you see everyday.
After returning from the technical difficulties, GvV picked up exactly where he left off, taking advantage of missed doubles by Noppert to extend his lead to 5-1. A statement performance from ‘The Giant’ as he averaged over 104 to demolish his Dutch compatriot 6-1 and book his place in the last four.
Semi-Finals
Gerwyn Price vs Michael van Gerwen
Result: Gerwyn Price (87.88) 2-7 Michael van Gerwen (93.43)
MvG flew out of the blocks in a matchup that has provided us with box-office entertainment over the years, winning four out of the opening five legs, which saw him punish missed darts at the double from Gezzy along the way. Four missed darts by ‘Mighty Mike’ allowed Price to secure his second leg of the game on double ten, as he kept his hopes of staying in the tournament alive, bring the scoreline to 4-2 going into the break.
Van Gerwen was not in the mood for messing around as he took out 132 on the bull, followed by a 48 out shot to go 6-2 up and one leg from a spot in the final. Despite eleven missed match darts from MvG, Price could not find a punishing double as ‘Mighty Mike’ finally pinned double two to wrap up a stellar performance.
Nathan Aspinall vs Gian van Veen
Result: Nathan Aspinall (94.19) 4-7 Gian van Veen (97.70)
Following on from their impressive quarter-finals performances, Aspinall and van Veen started their semi-final matchup in the same vein, as they were even after four legs at 2-2, with all four legs going with throw. The back-and-forth nature of the tie continued through the following two legs, as van Veen checked out 75 with ‘The Asp’ responding in kind taking out 94, to give us a level game once again going into the break. Aspinall was the first to blink in this contest, as his throw was broken in the seventh leg after missed darts.
‘The Giant’ van Veen continued to up the pressure by holding his throw with an 81 finish to win his third consecutive leg and go 6-3 up. Three match darts came and went for the Dutchman, as Aspinall pinned double five to keep his hopes alive. His valiant fight back was thwarted, as van Veen got over the line to reach his first World Series final, and set up an all-Dutch clash with MvG.
Final
Michael van Gerwen vs Gian van Veen
Result: Michael van Gerwen (100.91) 8-6 Gian van Veen (100.79)
Despite a strong scoring start from van Veen, it was van Gerwen who stole the opening leg against the throw, with a spectacular 130 finish on the bull, which punished three missed attempts on the double from van Veen. ‘Mighty Mike’ chased this up with a comfortable hold of throw, followed by another break, with a 113 checkout to race into a 3-0 lead.
A let off for van Veen followed, as MvG missed darts to further increase his advantage, allowing him to clean up and take his first leg of the match. Van Veen seemingly found his stride as he bagged another leg with a 111 outshot, the third ton plus finish in the opening five legs. ‘Mighty Mike’ halted his Dutch compatriot’s momentum once again, taking out 52 to go into the break 4-2 up in a race to eight legs. Straight after the break, ‘The Giant’ missed tops for a 160 out, which again was punished by MvG, who edged closer to victory.
A spirited fight back from Gian van Veen saw back-to-back legs go his way, as MvG let his foot off the gas. An 88-checkout followed as he clawed the game back to 6-5. With van Veen waiting on 24, van Gerwen hit a brilliant 103 to stop his opponent in his tracks and go one away from victory. Despite van Veens resilience, van Gerwen drew a close to the high-quality final with a 66 finish on double eighteen, to win the match 8-6, and win the 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters.
A 17th World Series title for ‘Mighty Mike’ following this excellent final, in which he averaged over a ton and landed 8/12 of his double attempts.