Bahrain Darts Masters predictions and darts betting tips: Bully Boy can make it a successful title defence

Where to watch the Bahrain Darts Masters

The event will be broadcast on ITV4, 4pm Thursday and Friday

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Michael Smith
1pt each-way 9-1 BoyleSports

Bahrain Darts Masters predictions

The PDC World Series of Darts gets underway with the Bahrain Darts Masters where a 16-strong field, consisting of eight leading lights plus eight Asian minnows, compete over two days for silverware.

The PDC stars are the eight names that have been confirmed in the Premier League, headlined by newly-crowned world champion Luke Humphries and his Alexandra Palace final victim, teenage sensation Luke Littler.

Former world champions Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Michael Smith and Rob Cross, as well as World Matchplay hero Nathan Aspinall, also make the trip to the Bahrain International Circuit.

In last year’s inaugural event, which was won by then world champion Smith, none of the Asian representatives were able to inflict a first-round defeat on the seeded stars.

World number one Humphries is top seed and will be hoping to emulate Bully Boy, who claimed his maiden world title a fortnight before following up in Bahrain.

However, the draw could have been sweeter for Cool Hand Luke, who may meet last year’s runner-up Price in the quarter-finals before a potential rematch with Littler in the last four.

The 16-year-old makes little appeal at his outright price given he now has the pressure of being a global superstar and is competing in a new country for the first time. He also has one of the toughest first-round draws in Man Lok Leung.

Aspinall has an early World Championship exit to respond to and he may be pushed in his opener with Lourence Ilagan, so the bottom half of the draw is the place to go.

Van Gerwen and Cross are on course to clash in an epic quarter-final, which means Bully Boy may have been underestimated by the betting in his title defence.

Smith crashed out in the last 16 of the World Championship, losing 4-0 to a devastating performance from Chris Dobey, but he scored well with an average of 102.47.

That was his second average in excess of 100 in the tournament and a near three-week break should have given him some more time to familiarise himself with his new equipment.

Smith can outclass Paolo Nebrida in round one and the reward for that victory would be a quarter-final tie with an out-of-sorts Wright, who averaged only 83.87 when last seen losing 3-0 to Jim Williams in his opening match at Ally Pally.

Bully Boy should have Wright’s measure and, once brimming with belief and in the semi-final, he would be a danger to all. At 9-1, he must make each-way appeal.

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