The world number one demonstrated his class with a commanding 6–1 win over Lim, who turns 72 next week and recently became the oldest player to secure a victory at Alexandra Palace.
“This is all new to us players, but I felt good out there tonight,” Littler said. “Winning the first event over here would mean everything. There can only be one winner, and hopefully I can be that tomorrow.”
Leung, fourth on the Asian Tour, caused a major upset by defeating tenth-seeded Noppert 6–3. He opened with an 11-darter to take a 3–0 lead before closing out the match.
“I am very happy to play my game on the stage,” Leung said. “It is my first match (and) win (in Saudi Arabia), so this is a big moment for me.”
Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen produced a comprehensive 6–1 victory over Nitin Kumar, finishing with scores of 74, 92 and 102.
Stephen Bunting matched that scoreline against Toru Goto, while Nathan Aspinall recorded a 6–1 triumph over Lourence Ilagan, averaging 100.93.
Gerwyn Price delivered the session’s most emphatic performance with a 6–0 whitewash of Alexis Toylo, averaging over 100 and completing the victory with a 170 checkout.
Luke Humphries followed with a 6–2 win over Ryusei Azemoto, and Gian van Veen concluded the day’s action by defeating Motomu Sakai 6–2 to complete the line-up of quarter-finalists.
Results
Luke Littler 6–1 Paul Lim
Man Lok Leung 6–3 Danny Noppert
Stephen Bunting 6–1 Toru Goto
Nathan Aspinall 6–1 Lourence Ilagan
Michael van Gerwen 6–1 Nitin Kumar
Gerwyn Price 6–0 Alexis Toylo
Luke Humphries 6–2 Ryusei Azemoto
Gian van Veen 6–2 Motomu Sakai