Luke Littler 8 – 5 Michael van Gerwen (best of 15 legs)
Reigning double world champion and world number one Luke Littler bounced back from his Bahrain setback to win the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters on the eve of his 19th birthday, rounding off a sensational day by defeating Michael van Gerwen 8–5 in a high-quality final.
Littler had to come from behind in a hard-fought quarter-final against Gian van Veen, before exacting revenge on Gerwyn Price in the semi-final, having lost to the Welshman at last week’s event in Bahrain.
‘The Nuke’ then started off like a bullet train against van Gerwen, racing into a 4–0 lead in a matter of minutes while averaging a remarkable 114. ‘Mighty Mike’, to his credit, raised his level to haul it back to 4–3, only to miss three darts at double 10 to draw level.
From there, Littler regained his edge, and despite pressure from the Dutchman, got over the line with a superb 11-darter to seal the victory.
Explosive darts action in a restrained atmosphere in Riyadh
If the sport is judged purely on the competition itself, then the crowd were treated to a spectacular showcase of darts at its very best. van Gerwen illustrated that range perfectly, averaging just 87 in a laboured quarter-final win over Stephen Bunting before lifting his level dramatically to post 100-plus averages in both his semi-final and final.
Then there was Littler, who had to produce his best to overcome three opponents in high-quality encounters, while surprise quarter-finalist Man Lok Leung impressed by pushing Nathan Aspinall all the way. From a purely sporting perspective, it was the kind of day any darts fan would happily lap up.
But Riyadh had never hosted a PDC event before, and it showed. Without the usual fancy dress, constant noise and crowd-led momentum that darts thrives on, the atmosphere was noticeably muted from start to finish.
Culturally, that is understandable and works well enough for many sports, but darts is different. The gap in understanding was evident when the crowd greeted an early sub-50 checkout with the same muted enthusiasm as a ton-plus finish later on, flattening moments that would normally lift the room.
The players would have felt it too. Darts players feed off the crowd in different ways, and there was little coming back at them to draw energy from. Most are media-trained to not criticise openly, although Nathan Aspinall did suggest that the crowd were still finding their way with the finer details of the sport, and some may even have been ringers.
As a first staging of the event, lessons will inevitably be learned and things may improve when darts returns to the Kingdom. One thing is certain – Saudi Arabia rarely loosens its grip once it has a sport in its grasp, and it is unlikely to be content in the long term with hosting a solitary, minor tournament while the game itself is still shaking off the afterglow of the World Championship.
But if the sport is to truly thrive here long term, a balance will need to be found between local traditions and the atmosphere that has long been part of what makes darts what it is.
Results round-up
Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs)
- Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Stephen Bunting
- Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Man Lok Lueng
- Luke Littler 6-4 Gian van Veen
- Gerwyn Price 6-5 Luke Humphies
Semi-finals (best of 13 legs)
- Michael van Gerwen 7-5 Nathan Aspinall
- Luke Littler 7-5 Gerwyn Price
Final (best of 15 legs)
Luke Littler 8-5 Michael van Gerwen
