Bully Boy Michael Smith a good outside bet to retain Bahrain Darts Masters title

The opening event of the 2024 World Series of Darts takes place this week with the Bahrain Darts Masters from the Bahrain International Circuit. New World Champion and No.1 ranked player in the world Luke Humphries (+200) is the favorite, and here we tell you if he will start the new darts season with another win in our latest darts betting picks.

  • What; 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters
  • When; Thursday, January 18th and Friday, January 19th, 2024
  • Where; Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain
  • Defending Champion; Michael Smith
  • 2024 Favorite to Win; Luke Humphries +200

Top quality lineup to start the 2024 season

Eight of the top players in the PDC will line up at the Bahrain Darts Masters, alongside eight representatives from the Asian darts circuit. The event only lasts for two days and is designed to take the sport out to the developing darts nations, giving the best of the local talent a chance to take on the top players from across the globe.

It also allows local darts fans to watch live the top players they are only really used to seeing on their televisions or streaming devices. And boy, what a lineup the locals are going to be treated to in Bahrain this week.

Headlining the competition is the new Darts World Champion and World Number 1, Luke Humphries. But it’s not just Humphries who is in Bahrain this week, also joining him there is Michael van Gerwen and new darts sensation Luke Littler.

And it gets better. All eight players scheduled to play in the 2024 Premier League are performing in Bahrain this week, meaning six current or former World Champions are on show.

Headlining the Asian representatives is Lourence Ilagan. Ilagan was the leading player on the PDC Asian Tour of Merit in 2023. The full lineup is below.

Eight Seeds

  • Luke Humphries (England)
  • Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
  • Michael Smith (England)
  • Nathan Aspinall (England)
  • Gerwyn Price (Wales)
  • Rob Cross (England)
  • Peter Wright (Scotland)
  • Luke Littler (England)

Eight Asian Representatives

  • Lourence Ilagan (Philippines)
  • Paolo Nebrida (Philippines)
  • Reynaldo Rivera (Philippines)
  • Man Lok Leung (Hong Kong)
  • Haruki Muramatsu (Japan)
  • Tomoya Goto (Japan)
  • Abdulla Saeed (Bahrain)
  • Hasan Haji (Bahrain)

Betting to win the 2024 Premier Bahrain Darts Masters

The in-form player in World Darts is Luke Humphries, and the new World Champion is the +200 favorite to win the Bahrain Darts Masters with the top US sportsbooks. Former World No.1, Michael van Gerwen, and Luke Littler are joint-second in the betting at +350.

Another former World Champion, Gerwyn Price, is fourth in the betting at +600. Following on from Price is the defending champion, Michael Smith, at +900. Making up the rest of the seeds are Rob Cross (+1000), Nathan Aspinall (+1400), and Peter Wright (+2200).

The shortest-priced Asian representative is Man Lok Leung at +6600. Tomoya Goto is next in the betting at +12500. Goto impressed at the recent World Darts Championship, defeating Ian White by three sets to one in the first round. He eventually lost 3-1 to No.19 seed Ryan Searle in the second round.

The biggest star is Lourence Ilagan, who made his eighth appearance at the World Darts Championship last month. Ilagan is +15000 to win the competition.

More 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters betting options are available on our odds table. We have only used odds from the best online sportsbooks for darts betting. For more information about the sportsbooks listed, please visit our free bets and promotions page.

PlayersBetOnline ReviewBovadaMyBookie Review
Luke Humphries+200+200+200
Michael van Gerwen+350+350+350
Luke Littler+350+350+350
Gerwyn Price+600+600+600
Michael Smith+900+900+900
Rob Cross+1000+1000+1000
Nathan Aspinall+1400+1400+1400
Peter Wright+2000+2000+2000
Man Lok Leung+6600+6600+6600
Tomoya Goto+12500+12500+12500
Lourence Ilagan+15000+15000+15000
Haruki Muramatsu+15000+15000+15000
Paolo Nebrida+20000+20000+20000
Reynaldo Rivera+20000+20000+20000
Abdulla Saeed+50000+50000+50000
Hasan Haji+50000+50000+50000

2024 Bahrain Darts Masters Format

The format for the Bahrain Darts Masters sees the eight seeds drawn to play the eight Asian representatives in the first round. This is played over the best of 11 legs, meaning the first to six is the winner. In the last eight, it is also the best of 11, with both the semi-finals played over the best of 13 legs, and the final is the best of 15.

The shorter format leads to more chances for shocks. But despite this, last year, all eight seeds got through the first round. Even though the first-round draw hasn’t been made (at the time of writing), we would be very surprised to see any of the eight seeds go out. After that, it’s a bit of a free-for-all-all. In the shortened format, all eight seeds are capable of beating each other.

2024 Bahrain Darts Masters Picks

Even though he’s in form, odds of +200 make Luke Humphries too short to be one of our betting picks. Instead, we are going for two players at longer odds.

First, we’re looking at the defending champion Michael Smith at +900. Smith has had a torrid time of late. But he will have fond memories of winning this competition 12 months ago, and it could represent a chance for him to get back to winning competitions again. Michael Smith is our first pick at +900.

Michael SmithTo win 2024 Bahrain Masters Darts
★★★★★
+900
Bet now

Our second pick to win is Gerwyn Price at +600. With the emergence of the two Lukes in the past few weeks, it’s easy to forget just how well Price did in 2023. The IceMan is still one of the top players in the world and could easily win this competition.

Therefore, our final pick to win the Bahrain Masters Darts is Gerwyn Price.

Gerwyn PriceTo win 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters
★★★★★
+600
Bet now

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Dean Etheridge

Dean is a general all-around sports enthusiast, but primarily he is a fan of English football and cricket. An experienced writer, Dean has been practicing his trade for over 15 years, first writing for his own publications, and latterly MyTopSportsbooks, and various other sports betting websites. Dean has extended his writing skills in recent years and now covers various other sports including Formula 1, darts, boxing, snooker, tennis, and golf. In his spare time, he enjoys days out at football and cricket with his family and friends.