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Grand Slam of Darts facts for kids

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Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts
Tournament information
Venue Civic Hall (2007–17)
WV Active - Aldersley (2018–19, 2021–)
Ricoh Arena (2020)
Location Wolverhampton (2007–19, 2021–)
Coventry (2020)
Country England
Established 2007
Organisation(s) PDC
BDO (until 2020)
Format Legs
Prize fund £650,000 (2022)
Month(s) Played November
Current champion(s)
England Luke Humphries

The Grand Slam of Darts is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and is known as the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts for sponsorship purposes. The PDC used to invite the best performing players from its rival, the British Darts Organisation (which went into liquidation in September 2020). 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 and it is unclear whether any other organisation will be invited in future.

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. 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 May 2018, the PDC announced that the Grand Slam of Darts trophy would be renamed in honour of the recently deceased Eric Bristow.

That year, with renovations being done to the Civic Hall, the Grand Slam was moved to a new venue, WV Active - Aldersley formerly Aldersley Leisure Village, which is located around 3 miles north-west of Wolverhampton City Centre. Three Grand Slam of Darts events at Aldersley were won by Gerwyn Price (2018, 2019, 2021). 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, and was won by José de Sousa. The 2021 edition saw the Grand Slam return to the WV Active - Aldersley where it has been held since. In 2023, the tournament was won by Luke Humphries.

Finals

Year Champion (average in final) Ch's
org
Score Runner-up (average in final) Prize money Sponsor Venue
Total Champion Runner-up
2007 England Phil Taylor (101.75) PDC 18–11 England Andy Hamilton (100.97) £300,000 £80,000 £35,000 PartyBets.com Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
2008 England Phil Taylor (106.25) 18–9 England Terry Jenkins (100.92) £356,000 £100,000 £40,000 PartyPoker.com
2009 England Phil Taylor (103.94) 16–2 England Scott Waites (94.16) £400,000 £50,000
2010 England Scott Waites (99.86) BDO 16–12 England James Wade (92.79) Daily Mirror
2011 England Phil Taylor (109.04) PDC 16–4 Scotland Gary Anderson (98.92) William Hill
2012 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld (95.79) 16–14 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (98.55)
2013 England Phil Taylor (98.14) 16–6 Scotland Robert Thornton (97.02)
2014 England Phil Taylor (102.45) 16–13 England Dave Chisnall (98.02) Singha Beer
2015 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (100.94) 16–13 England Phil Taylor (102.53)
2016 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (98.74) 16–8 England James Wade (90.73)
2017 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (102.18) 16–12 Scotland Peter Wright (97.71) £450,000 £110,000 £55,000 Bwin
2018 Wales Gerwyn Price (96.70) 16–13 Scotland Gary Anderson (97.25) WV Active - Aldersley,
Wolverhampton
2019 Wales Gerwyn Price (107.86) 16–6 Scotland Peter Wright (96.28) £550,000 £125,000 £65,000 BoyleSports
2020 Portugal José de Sousa (99.95) 16–12 England James Wade (94.26) Ricoh Arena, Coventry
2021 Wales Gerwyn Price (103.90) 16–8 Scotland Peter Wright (91.51) Cazoo WV Active - Aldersley,
Wolverhampton
2022 England Michael Smith (96.84) 16–5 England Nathan Aspinall (90.94) £650,000 £150,000 £70,000
2023  Humphries, LukeLuke Humphries (104.69) 16–8  Cross, RobRob Cross (103.61) Mr Vegas

Records and statistics

Total finalist appearances

Rank Player Nationality Won Runner-up Finals Appearances
1 Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor England England 6 1 7 11
2 Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen Netherlands Netherlands 3 1 4 15
3 Price, GerwynGerwyn Price Wales Wales 3 0 3 7
4 Waites, ScottScott Waites England England 1 1 2 6
5 Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld Netherlands Netherlands 1 0 1 14
Humphries, LukeLuke Humphries England England 1 0 1 4
Smith, MichaelMichael Smith England England 1 0 1 9
Sousa, José deJosé de Sousa Portugal Portugal 1 0 1 2
8 Wade, JamesJames Wade England England 0 3 3 15
Wright, PeterPeter Wright Scotland Scotland 0 3 3 10
10 Anderson, GaryGary Anderson Scotland Scotland 0 2 2 15
11 Aspinall, NathanNathan Aspinall England England 0 1 1 4
Chisnall, DaveDave Chisnall England England 0 1 1 10
Cross, RobRob Cross England England 0 1 1 7
Hamilton, AndyAndy Hamilton England England 0 1 1 6
Jenkins, TerryTerry Jenkins England England 0 1 1 8
Thornton, RobertRobert Thornton Scotland Scotland 0 1 1 9
  • Active players are shown in bold

Champions by country

Country Players Total First title Last title
 England 4 9 2007 2023
 Netherlands 2 4 2012 2017
 Wales 1 3 2018 2021
 Portugal 1 1 2020 2020

Nine-dart finishes

Five nine-darters have been thrown at the Grand Slam of Darts. The first one was in 2008.

Player Year (+ Round) Method Opponent Result
England James Wade 2008, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Scotland Gary Anderson Lost
Belgium Kim Huybrechts 2014, Quarter-Final 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen Won
England Dave Chisnall 2015, Group Stage 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Scotland Peter Wright Won
Belgium Dimitri Van den Bergh 2018, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 England Stephen Bunting Won
Northern Ireland Josh Rock 2022, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen Lost
England Ryan Searle 2023, Group Stage 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Northern Ireland Nathan Rafferty Won

High averages

Ten highest Grand Slam of Darts one-match winning averages
Average Player Year (+ Round) Opponent Result
115.19 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2021, Group Stage England Joe Cullen 5–2
114.85 Belgium Dimitri Van den Bergh 2020, Group Stage England Ricky Evans 5–1
114.65 England Phil Taylor 2014, Group Stage Netherlands Christian Kist 5–1
113.86 Belgium Geert De Vos 2015, Group Stage Wales Jonny Clayton 5–0
113.62 England Michael Smith 2019, Group Stage England Nathan Aspinall 5–1
112.66 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2018, Group Stage England Gary Robson 5–1
112.54 Scotland Gary Anderson 2018, Group Stage England Ian White 5–1
112.37 England Phil Taylor 2011, 2nd Round England Wes Newton 10–3
112.30 Wales Gerwyn Price 2023, Group Stage Netherlands Gian van Veen 5–1
112.16 England Phil Taylor 2013, Group Stage England Stuart Kellett 5–0
Five highest one-match losing averages
Average Player Year (+ Round) Opponent Result
110.99 England Adrian Lewis 2013, Semi-Final England Phil Taylor 9–16
108.68 England Adrian Lewis 2016, Group Stage England Chris Dobey 3–5
107.92 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2018, Group Stage Wales Jonny Clayton 4–5
106.70 England Stephen Bunting 2021, Group Stage England Ryan Joyce 4–5
106.50 Belgium Kim Huybrechts 2015, Group Stage Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 1–5
Different players with a 100+ match average (Updated 19/11/23)
Player Total Highest Av. Year (+ Round)
England Phil Taylor 45 114.65 2014, Group Stage
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 44 115.19 2021, Group Stage
Scotland Gary Anderson 32 112.54 2018, Group Stage
Wales Gerwyn Price 17 112.30 2023, Group Stage
England Michael Smith 16 113.62 2019, Group Stage
England James Wade 15 111.71 2021, Group Stage
Scotland Peter Wright 15 107.36 2016, Group Stage
Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 13 110.15 2016, Group Stage
England Adrian Lewis 12 110.99 2013, Semi-Finals
England Rob Cross 11 105.76 2017, Group Stage
England Luke Humphries 9 107.04 2022, Group Stage
England Dave Chisnall 7 109.84 2015, Group Stage
Australia Simon Whitlock 7 108.86 2018, Group Stage
England Scott Waites 6 103.79 2012, Group Stage
Belgium Dimitri Van den Bergh 5 114.85 2020, Group Stage
Austria Mensur Suljović 5 105.85 2021, Group Stage
England Andy Hamilton 5 105.64 2008, Group Stage
Wales Jonny Clayton 5 104.30 2021, Last 16
England Stephen Bunting 4 106.70 2021, Group Stage
Belgium Kim Huybrechts 4 106.50 2015, Group Stage
England Mervyn King 4 104.31 2015, Group Stage
England Terry Jenkins 4 103.09 2009, Group Stage
Scotland Robert Thornton 4 102.42 2012, Last 16
England Ian White 3 108.04 2020, Group Stage
England Scott Mitchell 3 107.78 2016, Group Stage
England Glen Durrant 3 106.05 2017, Group Stage
Poland Krzysztof Ratajski 3 104.18 2020, Group Stage
Netherlands Danny Noppert 3 103.88 2016, Group Stage
England Keegan Brown 3 103.66 2018, Group Stage
England Ryan Searle 3 103.59 2022, Group Stage
England Tony O'Shea 3 102.63 2010, Group Stage
England Ross Smith 2 107.92 2022, Group Stage
Austria Rowby-John Rodriguez 2 104.82 2021, Group Stage
England Nathan Aspinall 2 104.65 2019, Group Stage
England Dean Winstanley 2 104.55 2011, Last 16
Netherlands Wesley Harms 2 103.98 2018, Group Stage
Northern Ireland Josh Rock 2 103.93 2022, Last 16
England Ted Hankey 2 103.75 2010, Group Stage
Netherlands Co Stompé 2 103.44 2009, Group Stage
England Darren Webster 2 103.44 2017, Group Stage
England Steve Beaton 2 101.31 2010, Last 16
Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 2 100.80 2019, Group Stage
Belgium Geert De Vos 1 113.86 2015, Group Stage
Germany Gabriel Clemens 1 110.27 2019, Group Stage
Netherlands Roland Scholten 1 110.21 2007, Group Stage
England Ryan Joyce 1 108.11 2021, Group Stage
England Scott Williams 1 107.46 2022, Group Stage
England Jamie Hughes 1 106.32 2016, Group Stage
England Kevin McDine 1 105.79 2007, Last 16
England Martin Adams 1 104.82 2015, Group Stage
Netherlands Jelle Klaasen 1 104.69 2015, Group Stage
England Dennis Priestley 1 103.53 2007, Group Stage
Wales Martin Phillips 1 103.28 2010, Group Stage
Northern Ireland Nathan Rafferty 1 103.09 2023, Group Stage
Netherlands Dirk van Duijvenbode 1 102.89 2022, Group Stage
England Wes Newton 1 102.46 2012, Group Stage
United States Stowe Buntz 1 102.28 2023, Group Stage
Germany Martin Schindler 1 101.66 2021, Group Stage
Wales Jim Williams 1 101.60 2018, Group Stage
England Colin Lloyd 1 101.55 2009, Group Stage
England Fallon Sherrock 1 101.55 2021, Group Stage
Sweden Magnus Caris 1 101.52 2011, Group Stage
England Andrew Gilding 1 101.52 2018, Group Stage
England Wayne Jones 1 101.48 2007, Group Stage
Wales Mark Webster 1 101.43 2011, Group Stage
England Luke Woodhouse 1 101.26 2022, Group Stage
Scotland Ross Montgomery 1 100.96 2017, Group Stage
Netherlands Vincent van der Voort 1 100.92 2010, Group Stage
Netherlands Benito van de Pas 1 100.90 2016, Group Stage
England Kevin Painter 1 100.74 2009, Group Stage
England Mark McGeeney 1 100.40 2017, Group Stage
Canada John Part 1 100.38 2009, Group Stage
Republic of Ireland Steve Lennon 1 100.20 2017, Group Stage
England Justin Pipe 1 100.08 2013, Group Stage
Portugal José de Sousa 1 100.03 2020, Group Stage
Five highest tournament averages
Average Player Year
105.42 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2015
105.12 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2017
104.91 England Phil Taylor 2014
104.89 Scotland Gary Anderson 2013
104.20 England 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. Gary Anderson and James Wade qualified for 15 successive tournaments between 2007 and 2021, before missing their first event in 2022.

Television coverage

ITV screened the first four editions of the 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). 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. ITV extended their contract with the PDC to show the tournament until at least 2010.

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. Sky continues to air the event with its current deal running until 2025.

Sponsorship

The sponsors of the event were PartyBets.com (2007) and PartyPoker.com (2008–09), websites operated by Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, the Daily Mirror newspaper (2010), William Hill (2011–13), Singha Beer (2014–16), bwin (2017–18) and BoyleSports (2019–2020). Cazoo took over as sponsors from 2021, as part of a deal where they will also sponsor the PDC World Cup of Darts and the European Championship.

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