Michael van Gerwen's surprise Bahrain Masters replacement named and fans aren't happy with who's been picked

Fans have been reacting on social media after the 2025 PDC Bahrain Darts Masters lineup was confirmed.

Last year, teenage sensation Luke Littler won the competition after his fairytale run to the final of the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.

In the Middle East, the young talent got the better of three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen in the final in Bahrain.

Last week, the pair met in the final of this year's World Darts Championship, with Littler coming out on top after a convincing 7-3 win at Ally Pally.

However, Van Gerwen will not be present in Bahrain for this year's tournament due to family commitments.

A statement from the PDC read: "Newly crowned World Champion Luke Littler and world number one Luke Humphries will headline the 2025 Bahrain Darts Masters next week, with the 16-player field now finalised.

"Two-time World Champion Peter Wright completes the eight-player PDC line-up, with Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen missing out on the event due to family commitments."

Reacting on social media, fans were not impressed with the decision to include Peter Wright in Van Gerwen's absence.

One fan said: "What more should Mike De Decker do to be considered as a pick? Average 140? Throw 3 consecutive 9 darters? The guy is a major winner, at least give him some respect instead of getting Peter Wright in once again…"

Another tweeted: "Is that Peter Wright I'm seeing? In this day and age?"

A third fan added: "No MVG so they replace with Wright lol."

Luke Littler will be looking to defend his title in Bahrain. Image: Getty

The 2025 Bahrain Darts Masters lineup in full:

PDC Representatives

Luke Humphries (England)

Luke Littler (England)

Rob Cross (England)

Stephen Bunting (England)

Gerwyn Price (Wales)

Chris Dobey (England)

Nathan Aspinall (England)

Peter Wright (Scotland)

Asian Representatives

Lourence Ilagan (Philippines)

Alexis Toylo (Philippines)

Paolo Nebrida (Philippines)

Xiaochen Zong (China)

Lok Yin Lee (Hong Kong)

Nitin Kumar (India)

Basem Mahmood (Bahrain)

Abdulla Saeed (Bahrain)