ST HELENS darter Michael Smith begins his defence of the Bahrain Darts Masters today, as newly crowned World Champion Luke Humphries makes his first competitive appearance since lifting the iconic Sid Waddell Trophy earlier this month.

The sport's biggest names return to The Dome at the Bahrain International Circuit for the second staging of the World Series of Darts event, which will take place from January 18-19.

Thursday's first round will pit eight PDC stars against eight Asian representatives, which includes two local qualifiers from Bahrain who are making their televised debuts.

Reigning champion Smith will headline a star-studded opening night, as the 2023 World Champion begins his defence of the title against former PDC Asian Championship runner-up Paolo Nebrida.

"It's amazing to be back, and I'm looking forward to getting back on that stage again," reflected Smith, who is now ranked third on the PDC Order of Merit following his fourth round exit at the World Championship.

"When I lost to Chris [Dobey at the World Championship], I literally didn't pick up my darts until a day after the final, but I've been practising again.

"I've had a week in Dubai with the family to recharge the batteries and then I went to the PDC Asian Tour last weekend, which gave me the hunger to get back on the dartboard and get ready for this.

"Bahrain is a beautiful country and I'm really happy to be here, but the main thing is putting on a great show for the crowd over the next few days."

World Championship runner-up Luke Littler will make his highly-anticipated World Series of Darts debut on Thursday, as he faces Hong Kong's Man Lok Leung in a blockbuster first round showdown.

Littler generated global headlines with his record-breaking exploits at Alexandra Palace, enjoying a fairytale run to the final on debut, before succumbing 7-4 to Humphries in a match watched by 4.8m viewers on Sky Sports.

"It's back to business for me now," insisted the World Youth Champion, who will also feature in the 2024 BetMGM Premier League Darts, which gets underway in Cardiff next month.

"My life's changed and my family's life has changed and I'm grateful for the opportunities I'm getting.

"It's been crazy. Warrington Wolves invited me down and I went to the Manchester United game [last weekend] and met Sir Alex Ferguson.

"To meet him was amazing and he said some lovely things to me about staying dedicated and believing in myself.

"I've chilled out and not really thrown many darts since the World Championship final, but I'm sure that once I'm in the practice room I'll be alright, and hopefully I can have a good event here."

Following Thursday's first round, the 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters concludes on Friday with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in one bumper session.

The Bahrain Darts Masters will be broadcast live on PDCTV in all territories other than Germany, Austria & Switzerland (coverage via DAZN).

UK viewers can watch through ITVX on Thursday and on ITV4 for Friday's final stages.

2024 Bahrain Darts Masters.

Draw Bracket.

(1) Luke Humphries v Abdulla Saeed.

Gerwyn Price v Reynaldo Rivera.

(4) Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan.

Luke Littler v Man Lok Leung.

(2) Michael van Gerwen v Hasan Haji.

Rob Cross v Tomoya Goto.

(3) Michael Smith v Paolo Nebrida.

Peter Wright v Haruki Muramatsu.

Schedule of Play.

Thursday January 18 (1900 local time, 1600 GMT).

First Round.

Peter Wright v Haruki Muramatsu.

Gerwyn Price v Reynaldo Rivera.

Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan.

Rob Cross v Tomoya Goto.

Luke Littler v Man Lok Leung.

Luke Humphries v Abdulla Saeed.

Michael van Gerwen v Hasan Haji.

Michael Smith v Paolo Nebrida.

Friday January 19 (1900 local time, 1600 GMT).

Quarter-Finals.

Semi-Finals.

Final.

Format.

First Round - Best of 11 legs.

Quarter-Finals - Best of 11 legs.

Semi-Finals - Best of 13 legs.

Final - Best of 15 legs.