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Grand Slam of Darts 2024

Grand Slam of Darts 2024

Alex Moss |

Grand Slam of Darts 2024

Where is the Grand Slam darts? The Grand Slam is held at the WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton

The Grand Slam of Darts is one of the most popular darts tournaments on the calendar. First held in 2007, and for many years a competition that included players from rival codes in the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) and BDO (British Darts Organisation), the Grand Slam is now made up of predominantly PDC players and qualifiers from its secondary and affiliate tours.

The 2024 edition of the Grand Slam of Darts will be the 18th staging of the event and will take place over nine days from November 9-17. Luke Humphries is the defending champion and will return to the WV Active Aldersley, in Wolverhampton, to try and regain his title. The world number one heads up a star-studded 32-player line up in this year’s Grand Slam which also includes Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith.

In this blog, Darts Corner will explain what is the Grand Slam of Darts, as well as look back at the tournament’s history and memorable moments, the format and prize money for this year’s event and who has qualified for the 2024 tournament so far.

Tournament Basics

The Grand Slam of Darts has been held every year since 2007 and has quickly become established as a major event on the darts calendar. Known as the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts for sponsorship reasons, this tournament is organised by the PDC and brings together players from all over the world with spots on offer to the winners of the PDC Asian Championship and CDC Continental Cup.

The Grand Slam started out as a ‘PDC vs BDO’ competition and was the first of its kind to be held in the UK, with players from the BDO being invited each year up until 2020. Originally a non-ranking event, the Grand Slam converted to a ranking event from 2015 onwards with players now earning prize money that goes towards the PDC Order of Merit.

Grand Slam History

Gerwyn Price became the first Welsh player to win a PDC major when he lifted the Grand Slam of Darts in 2018

The inaugural staging of the Grand Slam of Darts in 2007 pitted players from the PDC against players from its rival code in the BDO. The unique cross-code element of the tournament made the Grand Slam an instant hit with darts fans as they got to watch their favourite players from the PDC and BDO face off against each other on the big stage.

The PDC’s top star Phil Taylor won the first three editions of the Grand Slam, before Scott Waites made history in 2010 as the first BDO winner of the competition when he beat James Wade 16-12 in the final, having trailed 8-0 before producing one of the most unlikely comebacks in televised darts history.

Taylor would go on to win three more titles in 2011, 2013 and 2014, with Raymond van Barneveld adding his name to the roll of honour after beating Michael van Gerwen 16-14 in a thrilling all-Dutch final in 2012. The PDC made the Grand Slam a ranking event from 2015 onwards, with the change marking a three-year reign of dominance from van Gerwen, who would win a hat-trick of Grand Slams from 2015 to 2017.

In 2018, Gerwyn Price made his own slice of history when he lifted the Grand Slam title, seeing off Gary Anderson 16-13 in a memorable final to become the first player from Wales to win a PDC major. Price was the first recipient of the Eric Bristow Trophy, with the winner’s trophy being renamed as a tribute to the five-time world champion who passed away earlier that year.

‘The Iceman’ would go on to defend the title the following year and was the first champion in the event’s new home at the WV Active Aldersley, in Wolverhampton. The Civic Hall, in Wolverhampton, had played host to every Grand Slam up until 2018 before renovation work at the venue meant a move to another location in the city. The Grand Slam has remained at the WV Active Aldersley since 2019, apart from in 2020 when the tournament was played behind closed doors at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena during the pandemic.

The demise of the BDO in 2020 led to the PDC removing its Grand Slam player invites after that year’s event, with their spots now being taken up by the top performers from the organisation’s various secondary and affiliate tours including the Women’s Series, Challenge Tour and Development Tour. The list of Grand Slam of Darts winners has been expanded in recent years with Jose De Sousa, Michael Smith and Luke Humphries all getting their hands on the Eric Bristow Trophy.

Grand Slam of Darts Format & Rules

How does the Grand Slam of Darts work - The Grand Slam of Darts 2024 will once again follow the tournament’s regular format with 32 players split into eight groups of four players. The event starts out with a group stage with each player having three matches and facing every player in their respective groups.

Every match in the Grand Slam of Darts groups are played over the best of nine legs (or a race to five legs). The winner of each match earns two points towards their group table, with the top two players in each group advancing to the knockout stage of the competition. Players are separated in their groups by points, and then on legs difference, followed by the result between the players who are tied together.

The winners and runners-up in each of the eight groups advance to the knockout rounds, where the format increases from the best of 9 legs up to the best of 19 legs. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are all played over the best of 31 legs.

How do players qualify?

The Grand Slam of Darts qualification structure brings together both male and female players, with Michael van Gerwen and Fallon Sherrock facing off in the group stage in the 2023 event.

The qualification criteria for the Grand Slam of Darts makes it one of the most difficult tournaments to qualify for on the PDC calendar. Players can qualify for the Grand Slam by reaching the final of a major event during the previous 12 months, with that list of tournaments including the PDC World Darts Championship, Premier League, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

If the list of major finalists produces fewer than 16 players, the field will be filled with players from the reserve lists. The first reserve list features European Tour title winners from the current season, with players on this list separated firstly by the number of titles won and then their PDC Order of Merit position at the cut-off date. The second reserve list is winners of Players Championship events during the season, and again players are ordered by title wins and then their current ranking.

Eight more spots are filled by the Grand Slam of Darts Tour Card Holder Qualifier, which is a one-day event held each year and open to every PDC tour card holder not already qualified for the tournament. 

The remaining eight places in the competition are taken up by the various PDC secondary and affiliate tours and competitions including the winners of the PDC World Youth Championship, Women’s World Matchplay, CDC Continental Cup and PDC Asian Championship. The top ranked player on the Challenge Tour, Development Tour and PDC Women’s Series also qualify for the Grand Slam.

2024 Participants Confirmed

Here is a list of the confirmed Grand Slam of Darts qualifiers for 2024 and how they qualified:-

2024 Mr Vegas Grand Slam Of Darts qualifiers 

PDC televised event finalists

  • Luke Humphries (2024 PDC World Darts Championship winner)
  • Luke Littler (2024 Premier League winner)
  • Mike De Decker (2024 World Grand Prix winner)
  • Ritchie Edhouse (2024 European Championship winner)
  • Stephen Bunting (2024 Masters winner)
  • Dimitri Van den Bergh (2024 UK Open winner)
  • Michael Smith (2024 PDC World Cup of Darts winner)
  • Rob Cross (2023 Grand Slam of Darts runner-up)
  • Michael van Gerwen (2024 World Matchplay runner-up)
  • Jermaine Wattimena (2024 European Championship runner-up)
  • Mensur Suljovic (2024 PDC World Cup of Darts runner-up)
  • Rowby-John Rodriguez (2024 PDC World Cup of Darts runner-up)

Additional qualifiers

  • Gian van Veen (2023 PDC World Youth Championship runner-up)
  • Wessel Nijman (2024 PDC Development Tour Order of Merit winner)
  • Beau Greaves (2024 Women’s World Matchplay winner)
  • Noa-Lynn van Leuven (2024 PDC Women’s Series Order of Merit runner-up)
  • Lourence Ilagan (2024 PDC Asian Championship winner)
  • Leonard Gates (2024 CDC Continental Cup winner)
  • Connor Scutt (2024 PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit winner)

European Tour event winners

Tour Card Holder qualifiers

Grand Slam of Darts Prize Money 2024

The Grand Slam of Darts prize money has jumped several times during its near 20-year existence. The inaugural edition of the Grand Slam in 2007 had a prize fund of £300,000, including £80,000 for the winner. The total prize pot has increased many times since then, with the latest jump coming in 2022 when the prize fund increased to £650,000, with £150,000 going to the champion.

Below is the prize money breakdown for the 2024 edition:-

Winner - £150,000
Runner-up £70,000
Semi-finalists - £50,000
Quarter-finalists - £25,000
Round 2 (last 16) - £12,250
Third place in groups - £8,000
Fourth place in groups - £5,000
(Group winner bonus - £3,500)

Tournament Schedule 2024

The Grand Slam of Darts schedule for the 2024 tournament has been confirmed and will follow the same setup as recent years. The opening weekend (November 9-10) will include two double sessions on the Saturday and Sunday when the first two rounds of group matches will take place. The group stage will then draw to a close with the third and final round of group matches over two evening sessions on the Monday and Tuesday (November 11-12).

The knockout stage of the competition is then contested over the rest of the week, with the Grand Slam of Darts fixtures for the last 16 through to the final being played from November 13-17. The last 16 will be played on the Wednesday and Thursday (November 13-14), with the Grand Slam of Darts quarter finals to follow on the Friday and Saturday (November 15-16). The semi-finals and final are staged across two sessions on a bumper finals day on the Sunday (November 17).

Past Highlights

Fallon Sherrock made history in the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts as the first female player to reach a PDC major quarter-final.

The Grand Slam of Darts has produced lots of memorable moments over the years, including nine-dart legs, standout performances and surprise results. There have been six nine-dart finishes in the history of the Grand Slam, with James Wade, Kim Huybrechts, Dave Chisnall, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Josh Rock and Ryan Searle all striking perfection on the Wolverhampton stage.

In 2012, an all-Dutch final saw Raymond van Barneveld edge past Michael van Gerwen 16-14 in arguably the best deciding clash in Grand Slam history. It remains the longest and closest Grand Slam final to date and marked the end of van Barneveld’s five-year drought without a major singles title.

Another memorable Grand Slam moment came in 2020 when Jose De Sousa won the title behind closed doors. De Sousa became the first player from Portugal to win a PDC major and won it in style with a 158 finish to beat James Wade 16-12 in the final.

One of the most historic Grand Slam of Darts results came in the 2022 tournament when Fallon Sherrock beat Mensur Suljovic in the last 16. It was the first time in history that a female player had reached the quarter-finals of a PDC major event, and in her last-eight clash she pushed Peter Wright all the way in a 16-13 defeat.

Predictions for this year’s Grand Slam of Darts

Wessel Nijman will make his Grand Slam of Darts debut in this year's tournament.

The line up for this year’s Grand Slam of Darts is taking shape with 23 of the 32 players now confirmed. The 2024 season has already seen three brand new PDC major winners crowned in Luke Littler, Mike De Decker and Ritchie Edhouse and all three will be ones to watch out for. World number one Luke Humphries returns to the WV Active Aldersley as the reigning champion, after cruising to the title last year with a 16-8 win over Rob Cross in the final.

Amongst the debutants in Wolverhampton will be the Development Tour Order of Merit winner Wessel Nijman. The 24-year-old Dutchman is enjoying a fine debut season on the PDC tour, having picked up his maiden ProTour title on the Players Championship circuit earlier this month. Nijman also claimed five Development Tour titles this year to finish well clear at the top of the Order of Merit and earn a debut at the Grand Slam this year.

Staying up to date...

Luke Humphries became just the eighth Grand Slam champion in history after winning the tournament in 2023.

Excitement is building for this year’s Grand Slam with 32 of the world’s best players preparing to battle it out for the title. The 2024 Grand Slam of Darts takes place from November 9-17 at the WV Active Aldersley, in Wolverhampton, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Let us know your predictions for the tournament. Tweet your predictions on X (Twitter) or leave a comment on our Facebook page. And you can keep up to date with all of the action with updates in the ‘Darts News’ section of our blog.

Check out our '20 Most Unforgettable Moments in Grand Slam History' blog and relive some of the memorable matches and moments from previous editions of the Grand Slam of Darts.

Pictures: PDC

Alex Moss is a content creator for Darts Corner and the co-host of the Weekly Dartscast podcast. Alex co-founded the Weekly Dartscast in 2017 and has helped produce 350+ episodes of the podcast, with their list of previous guests on the show a who’s who in the world of darts.

Alex also writes content for the Darts Corner blog, including the weekly darts news round-ups and how-to guides.

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