Big guns still in the mix at the quarter final stage

Big guns still in the mix at the quarter final stage: Update on The World Darts Championships brought to you by The Bahrain Darts Masters

As the World Championships at Ally Pally heats up to the quarter final stage, its worth looking at the state of play ahead of the final stages taking place over the next few days.

To date, the tournament has thrown up some major shocks, with some big name early exits, as well as new names coming through to make their mark at what is the pinnacle for the sport. There have also been mixed fortunes for the five players confirmed for Bahrain in two weeks from now.

Luke Littler continues to attract much of the attention, coming into the tournament as favourite and world number one and a hot prospect for Bahrain later this month. He has had a relatively smooth path to the quarter finals, including beating Rob Cross 4-2 in the last round. But it’s not been without some controversy. Darts has a funny habit of backing the underdog, so the defending world champion had to deal with his fair share of crowds against him. After his last game, Littler suggested that he could have perhaps have dealt better with the crowd situation. It will certainly be interesting to see how he manages that side of the game over the next few days. On pure darts form, however, he remains the firm favourite.

At the other ended of the draw, the ever-consistent Luke Humphries, another regular scheduled for Bahrain, has had a relatively easy path so far, with an impressive win against Kevin Doets in the last round, whilst also putting out the Singapore legend Paul Lim earlier in the tournament.

The only other top five seed remaining in the tournament is “The Ferret” Jonny Clayton, who fans in Bahrain will remember from his appearance here in 2023. His recent return to form had led him to this stage in the tournament, but it has not been an easy path for the Welshman with 4-3 and 4-2 victories in his last two games. He will play Ryan Searle in the next round, the 20th seed who has yet to drop a set in the entire tournament. This is expected to be a really tight match up. The winner will go on to meet Luke Littler or the Polish breakout star Krzysztof Ratajski, who knocked out the 25th seed Luke Woodhouse in the last round.

Another strong performer to reach the quarter final stage is the new Dutch sensation Gian van Veen, the number 10 seed. He has looked solid under some pressure in the tournament so far, as is seen by some as a dark horse to go further still in the tournament. He will also be keeping one eye on a chance to compete in the World Series if he continues this form. His match against Luke Humphries looks to be the standout game in the New Year’s Day lineup.