Grand Slam of Darts
The Grand Slam of Darts is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and is known as the BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts for sponsorship purposes. The PDC also invited the best performing players from its rival, the British Darts Organisation. There have been two previous head-to-head matches between the champions of the two organisations and a few overseas tournaments have also featured BDO v PDC clashes, but this tournament is the first of its kind to be held in the United Kingdom. This arrangement lasted until the BDO's collapse into liquidation in 2020[1] and it is unclear whether any other organisation will be invited in future.
| BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Civic Hall (2007–17) Aldersley Leisure Village (2018–19) Ricoh Arena (2020) |
| Location | Wolverhampton (2007–19) Coventry (2020) |
| Country | England |
| Established | 2007 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC BDO (Until 2020) |
| Format | Legs |
| Prize fund | £550,000 |
| Month(s) Played | November |
| Current champion(s) | |
 José de Sousa | |
Since the 2015 edition the tournament is classified as a ranking-tournament, being a non-ranking event at previous editions.
Up until 2017, the tournament was staged each November at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall since it began in 2007. Phil Taylor won the first three finals against Andy Hamilton in 2007, Terry Jenkins in 2008 and Scott Waites in 2009. Taylor did not reach the final in 2010, losing to Steve Beaton in the quarter-finals.[2] Scott Waites won that year, beating James Wade 16–12 in the final having trailed 8–0, making him the only BDO player to win the title. Taylor reclaimed the title in 2011, defeating Gary Anderson 16–4. Raymond van Barneveld defeated Michael van Gerwen 16–14 in the 2012 final, but Taylor regained the trophy in 2013, retained it in 2014, before losing to van Gerwen in 2015. Van Gerwen then retained it in 2016 and again in 2017 before Gerwyn Price won the trophy for the first time in 2018
In 2018, with renovations being done to the Civic Hall, the Grand Slam was moved to a temporary new venue, the Aldersley Leisure Village, which is located around 3 miles north-west of Wolverhampton City Centre. Aldersley Leisure Village also hosted the event in 2019. Both Grand Slam of Darts events at Aldersley were won by Gerwyn Price. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the event was held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry behind closed doors. The 2020 tournament was won by José de Sousa.
Finals
| Year | Champion (average in final) | Ch's org |
Score | Runner-up (average in final) | Prize money | Sponsor | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Champion | Runner-up | |||||||
| 2007 |  Phil Taylor (101.75) |
PDC | 18–11 | Andy Hamilton (100.97) |
£300,000 | £80,000 | £35,000 | PartyBets.com | Civic Hall, Wolverhampton |
| 2008 | Phil Taylor (106.25) |
18–9 | Terry Jenkins (100.92) |
£356,000 | £100,000 | £40,000 | PartyPoker.com | ||
| 2009 | Phil Taylor (103.94) |
16–2 | Scott Waites (94.16) |
£400,000 | £50,000 | ||||
| 2010 | Scott Waites (99.86) |
BDO | 16–12 | James Wade (92.79) |
Daily Mirror | ||||
| 2011 | Phil Taylor (109.04) |
PDC | 16–4 |  Gary Anderson (98.92) |
William Hill | ||||
| 2012 |  Raymond van Barneveld (95.79) |
16–14 | Michael van Gerwen (98.55) | ||||||
| 2013 | Phil Taylor (98.14) |
16–6 | Robert Thornton (97.02) | ||||||
| 2014 | Phil Taylor (102.45) |
16–13 | Dave Chisnall (98.02) |
Singha Beer | |||||
| 2015 | Michael van Gerwen (100.94) |
16–13 | Phil Taylor (102.53) | ||||||
| 2016 | Michael van Gerwen (98.74) |
16–8 | James Wade (90.73) | ||||||
| 2017 | Michael van Gerwen (102.18) |
16–12 | Peter Wright (97.71) |
£450,000 | £110,000 | £55,000 | Bwin | ||
| 2018 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Gerwyn Price (96.70) |
16–13 | Gary Anderson (97.25) |
Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton | |||||
| 2019 | Gerwyn Price (107.86) |
16–6 | Peter Wright (96.28) |
£550,000 | £125,000 | £65,000 | BoyleSports | ||
| 2020 | José de Sousa (99.95) |
16–12 | James Wade (94.26) |
Ricoh Arena, Coventry | |||||
Records and statistics
- As of 23 November 2020.
Total finalist appearances
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Won | Runner-up | Finals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Taylor | England | 6 | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen | Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
| 3 | Gerwyn Price | Wales | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | Scott Waites | England | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| José de Sousa | Portugal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | James Wade | England | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| 8 | Gary Anderson | Scotland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| Peter Wright | Scotland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| 10 | Dave Chisnall | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Andy Hamilton | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Terry Jenkins | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| Robert Thornton | Scotland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
- Active players are shown in bold
Champions by country
| Country | Players | Total | First title | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England |
2 | 7 | 2007 | 2014 |
| Netherlands |
2 | 4 | 2012 | 2017 |
| Wales |
1 | 2 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Portugal |
1 | 1 | 2020 | 2020 |
Nine-dart finishes
Four nine-darters have been thrown at the Grand Slam of Darts. The first one was in 2008.
| Player | Year (+ Round) | Method | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Wade |
2008, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Gary Anderson |
Lost |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Kim Huybrechts |
2014, Quarter-Final | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Michael van Gerwen |
Won |
| Dave Chisnall |
2015, Group Stage | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Peter Wright |
Won |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh |
2018, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Stephen Bunting |
Won |
High averages
| Ten highest Grand Slam of Darts one-match winning averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 114.85 | Dimitri Van den Bergh |
2020, Group Stage | Ricky Evans |
5–1 |
| 114.65 | Phil Taylor |
2014, Group Stage | Christian Kist |
5–1 |
| 113.86 | Geert De Vos |
2015, Group Stage | Jonny Clayton |
5–0 |
| 113.62 | Michael Smith |
2019, Group Stage | Nathan Aspinall |
5–1 |
| 112.66 | Michael van Gerwen |
2018, Group Stage | Gary Robson |
5–1 |
| 112.54 | Gary Anderson |
2018, Group Stage | Ian White |
5–1 |
| 112.37 | Phil Taylor |
2011, 2nd Round | Wes Newton |
10–3 |
| 112.16 | Phil Taylor |
2013, Group Stage | Stuart Kellett |
5–0 |
| 111.80 | Gary Anderson |
2013, Group Stage | Peter Wright |
5–1 |
| 111.79 | Gary Anderson |
2017, Group Stage | Berry van Peer |
5–1 |
| Five highest one-match losing averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 110.99 | Adrian Lewis |
2013, Semi-Final | Phil Taylor |
9–16 |
| 108.68 | Adrian Lewis |
2016, Group Stage | Chris Dobey |
3–5 |
| 107.92 | Michael van Gerwen |
2018, Group Stage | Jonny Clayton |
4–5 |
| 106.50 | Kim Huybrechts |
2015, Group Stage | Michael van Gerwen |
1–5 |
| 105.65 | Gary Anderson |
2008, Semi-Final | Terry Jenkins |
14–16 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
| Five highest tournament averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year | ||
| 105.42 | Michael van Gerwen |
2015 | ||
| 105.12 | Michael van Gerwen |
2017 | ||
| 104.91 | Phil Taylor |
2014 | ||
| 104.89 | Gary Anderson |
2013 | ||
| 104.20 | Phil Taylor |
2013 | ||
Previous BDO v PDC tournaments
There have been previous tournaments in which players from both the PDC and BDO have competed. Between 1997 and 2001, several BDO players competed in the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix – this was as a result of a 1997 Tomlin Order which allowed freedom of players to enter more events. This was later restricted from the start of 2002 onwards, when eligibility rules allowed only Professional Dart Players Association members to compete in the tournaments.
The 2005 Masters of Darts was the first tournament to feature the top players from each organisation. In 2006 and 2007, following Raymond van Barneveld's move to the PDC, the Dutch organisers of the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy invited some top PDC players to compete alongside BDO players.
Perennial participants
As the Grand Slam is an invitational tournament for players who have reached major finals and semi-finals, or been the top of their countries' respective rankings, there is a certain degree of prestige attached to qualifying for the tournament, and even more for entrants who qualify multiple times. Two players have qualified for all 14 tournaments so far.
Television coverage
ITV screened the first four Grand Slam of Darts, which ended their 19-year absence from regular darts coverage (although they did show a one-off Clash of Champions match between Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld in 1999).[4] The inaugural event saw selected first round games, the semi-finals, and the final all screened live on ITV1 and the rest of the tournament live on ITV4 but the live coverage was moved entirely to ITV4 in subsequent years, with highlights packages being the only coverage of the event on ITV1.
The tournament proved popular on ITV4, with the 2009 event achieving nine out of the top ten places in the channel's output for that week. Viewing figures ranged from 208,000 to 435,000 with the final itself watched by 454,000.[5] ITV extended their contract with the PDC to show the tournament until at least 2010.[6]
The presenting team consisted of lead presenter Matt Smith, and analysts Alan Warriner-Little and Chris Mason (who replaced Steve Beaton in 2008). The commentating team included Stuart Pyke, who also commentates on darts for Sky Sports, boxing commentator John Rawling, and Peter Drury. Janie Omorogbe provided reporting duties and player interviews.
On 25 January 2011, it was announced that Sky Sports would broadcast the event until 2018.[7][8]
Sponsorship
On 23 September 2014, the PDC announced a three-year partnership with Singha Beer as the new title sponsors of the Grand Slam of darts starting with the 2014 event.[9]
Jaturon Zane Himathongkom, International Sports Marketing Director at Singha Beer, said: "We are delighted to be a title sponsor for the Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts and also an Official Beer partner of the PDC during 2014–2016. This is a fantastic event and also a splendid opportunity for us to be involved. I hope everyone will enjoy Singha Beer during the event." PDC Chairman Barry Hearn said: "It gives me great pleasure to welcome Singha Beer into the PDC family as our new sponsors for the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts and an Official Partner for the next three years. Their brand is recognised worldwide as a beer of leading quality, and with this sponsorship they'll be associated with the leading players in world darts, including a host of World Champions and other major tournament winners."
On 14 March 2017, it was announced that bwin was to take over as the sponsor of the event beginning with the 2017 tournament.
BoyleSports is sponsoring the 2019 event.
Previous sponsors were William Hill (2011–13) PartyBets.com (2007) and PartyPoker.com (2008–09), websites operated by Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, and the Daily Mirror newspaper (2010).
References
- "BDO era comes to an end as counties join UKDA". Dartsnews.com. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- "Taylor beaten by Beaton". Sky Sports. British Sky Broadcasting. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- "Grand Slam Of Darts Winners". Darts Database. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ITV agree to cover Grand Slam Archived 2013-05-05 at Archive.today This is London
- Weekly Top 10 Programmes Archived 2014-07-18 at the Wayback Machine Broadcasters' Audience Research Board
- ITV signs deal with PDC for three more years Archived 2008-10-22 at the Wayback Machine ITV
- Sky Sports Snap Up Grand Slam Archived 2011-01-28 at the Wayback Machine PDC
- "Sky Sports and PDC agree new five-year deal". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- "SINGHA Beer Sponsor Grand Slam". PDC. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.