The crowd on the opening night of the Bahrain Darts Masters was branded ’embarrassing’ after hordes of fans left the arena following Luke Littler’s victory over Lourence Ilagan.
The newly-crowned world champion was made to work hard but eventually secured a 6-3 victory over his Filipino opponent to book his place in the next round.
Thousands of fans were in attendance at the Bahrain International Circuit but a significant portion of the crowd decided to leave after watching Littler in action.
A huge number of empty seats were picked up by the TV cameras during Peter Wright’s match against Alexis Toylo, which took place following Littler’s victory.
Some viewers were left frustrated with the mass exodus and the lack of atmosphere on display, especially after being treated to the rowdy crowds at the recent World Darts Championship.
On X (formerly Twitter), @PaulAmos74 wrote: “Crowd at the Bahrain Darts Masters is embarrassing.” @Suzuyaa24 added: “Going from the World Championship crowd to this Bahrain crowd is so depressing.”
@ACWDarts posed the question: “F****** hell, where’s the crowd gone?” @SophFigueira95, meanwhile, posted: “I’m sorry but this crowd is dire. I get we’re in Bahrain, but come on, this is ridiculous.”
Nathan Aspinall was also in action following Littler’s victory, with fans picking up on the muted reception to his iconic walk-on despite it usually being a crowd pleaser.
“Aspinall’s walk on doesn’t hit the same in front of the 27 fans in Bahrain,” said @hoppo07, while @PatBuckingham quipped: “Clearly the Bahrain crowd are less interested in Mr Brightside than the Premier League selectors.”
Littler, meanwhile, was forced to contend with loud whistling from some fans during his match against Ilagan. Legendary caller Russ Bray had to restore order on several occasions, with the crowd disruption clearly heard on ITV’s live coverage.
The issue was resolved in the latter part of the clash, with Littler mounting a late surge to dispatch his rival and set up a quarter-final meeting with Gerwyn Price.
Speaking after his victory, he said: “It would mean the absolute world to come back and retain it as the world champion. I’ve already kicked off 2025 the best it can get, but to win two tournaments this month would mean the world.”
