The world’s top 32 players from both sides of the darting divide go head-to-head in the eighth staging of the Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts in November and Sky Sports will once again be at the oche for all nine days of competition.
One of the highlights on the world darts calendar, the cross-code tournament sees the best of the best from both the PDC and BDO/WDF systems come together under one roof to compete across nine days for the prestigious title.
The Grand Slam once again takes place at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, where the event has been staged every year since its inauguration in 2007, and a boisterous and energetic crowd will show their support to all the big names in attendance throughout the week, with the tournament retaining its unique group stage format, before becoming a straight knockout from the last 16 onwards.
Reigning champion Phil Taylor faces a tough task holding on to his crown, with ‘The Power’ part of an incredibly strong field that also features both darts world champions – PDC winner Michael van Gerwen and BDO champion Stephen Bunting, who now plays his darts on the PDC circuit having made the switch shortly after his Lakeside triumph.
Taylor lifted the trophy for the fifth time last year, following up his sensational record-breaking semi-final win over Adrian Lewis, in what many of the Sky Sports pundits described as the greatest match ever seen on the channel in terms of scoring and finishing.
His produced a dominant performance in the final against Robert Thornton, beating the Scotsman 16-6, a success which saw him continue his strong run of form throughout 2013 and pick up his seventh major televised title of the year.
Other challengers include reigning UK Open champion Adrian Lewis, 2014 Premier League Darts champion Raymond van Barneveld and 2013 BDO world champion Scott Waites, a winner in Wolverhampton in 2010.
Alongside the established PDC names, the best players from the BDO will also test their skills against the best from the rival organisation, with 2014 BDO World Championship runner-up Alan Norris taking part for the first time, alongside Robbie Green, who also makes his debut, while Wesley Harms, Richie George and Jan Dekker have all had previous experience of playing on the Civic Hall stage.
The Grand Slam of Darts features players who have qualified by virtue of reaching the final of major televised tournaments during a two-year period, as well as semi-finalists in previous Grand Slam of Darts events, the PDC World Championship and Lakeside Championship.
In addition, recent world champions within the past five years are invited to compete, alongside the PDC’s world youth champion, which was won by 22-year-old Englishman Keegan Brown, while any remaining places are completed in the Wildcard Qualifier, which was held in the week prior to the event.
Initially, the Grand Slam sees the 32 players split into eight four-player groups for the round-robin first round, before the top two players from each group progress to the knockout phase from the last 16 onwards, with the semi-final and final held on the same day, bringing an amazing festival of darts to a spectacular conclusion.
With the World Championships drawing ever closer, the Grand Slam represents the last long-form televised major before the flagship event in December and fans can watch all the action from Wolverhampton live only on Sky Sports this November.
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Sky Sports will screen the 2014 Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts exclusively live from the Wolverhampton Civic Hall from November 8-16, as the channel serves up another nine days of unmissable darting action.
Dave Clark will introduce the action from Wolverhampton every night on Sky Sports HD alongside former two-time World Matchplay winner Rod Harrington and former world semi-finalist Wayne Mardle.
Rod Studd, Stuart Pyke and Nigel Pearson will call all the action alongside them from the commentary box, while interviews with players come from Laure James.
All of Sky Sports’ live coverage will be available to watch for subscribers via Sky Go on PCs, mobiles, laptops and tablet devices.
The Sky Sports darts website will feature all the latest news, interviews and features from Dublin throughout the week, plus opinion from Sky experts and video highlights.
Fans can also interact with the on-air team via Twitter during the event – @SkySportsDarts.
As the nights begin to draw in, the temperatures drop and the leaves turn brown, it can only mean the return of big time darts to Sky Sports this winter and there is plenty more top action to enjoy between now and January.
The Grand Slam is followed by the blue-riband event on the PDC calendar, the William Hill World Darts Championships, live from Alexandra Palace over the festive period, all exclusively on Sky Sports.
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OFFICIAL WEBSITE DRAW / SCHEDULE LIVE SCORES
Saturday 8th NovemberDAY 1: Group Stages LIVE: 1.30pm-5.00pm Sky Sports 3 / 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 3 Afternoon Session Kim Huybrechts 5-2 Jan Dekker (A)
Scott Waites 2-5 Terry Jenkins (B)
Robert Thornton 2-5 Vincent van der Voort (D)
Alan Norris 5-2 Ronny Huybrechts (B)
Dave Chisnall 5-1 Keegan Brown (C)
Michael van Gerwen 5-4 Darren Webster (A)
Raymond van Barneveld 5-3 Robbie Green (D)
Adrian Lewis 2-5 Rowby-John Rodriguez (C) Evening Session Andy Hamilton 2-5 Christian Kist (E)
Stephen Bunting 5-1 Wesley Harms (H)
Mervyn King 5-4 Tony O’Shea (G)
Peter Wright 5-2 Brendan Dolan (F)
Gary Anderson 5-1 Dean Winstanley (H)
Phil Taylor 5-0 Richie George (E)
Simon Whitlock 2-5 Michael Smith (F)
James Wade 5-1 Jamie Caven (G)
Sunday 9th November DAY 2: Group Stages LIVE: 1.30pm-5.30pm Sky Sports 5 / 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Afternoon Session Scott Waites 4-5 Ronny Huybrechts
Jan Dekker 5-2 Darren Webster
Adrian Lewis 1-5 Keegan Brown
Robert Thornton 2-5 Robbie Green
Alan Norris 5-1 Terry Jenkins
Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Kim Huybrechts
Raymond van Barneveld 5-4 Vincent van der Voort
Dave Chisnall 5-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez Evening Session Dean Winstanley 3-5 Wesley Harms (H)
Andy Hamilton 5-2 Richie George (E)
Tony O’Shea 5-3 Jamie Caven (G)
Simon Whitlock 5-3 Brendan Dolan (F)
Peter Wright 4-5 Michael Smith (F)
Phil Taylor 5-1 Christian Kist (E)
Stephen Bunting 5-2 Gary Anderson (H)
James Wade 4-5 Mervyn King (G)
Monday 10th November DAY 3: Group Stages LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Alan Norris 3-5 Scott Waites (B)
Raymond van Barneveld 5-2 Robert Thornton (D)
Adrian Lewis 5-2 Dave Chisnall (C)
Michael van Gerwen 5-0 Jan Dekker (A)
Kim Huybrechts 5-1 Darren Webster (A)
Keegan Brown 5-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez (C)
Vincent van der Voort 4-5 Robbie Green (D)
Terry Jenkins 5-1 Ronny Huybrechts (B)
Tuesday 11th November DAY 4: Group Stages LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Michael Smith 5-1 Brendan Dolan (F)
Stephen Bunting 5-2 Dean Winstanley (H)
Mervyn King 5-4 Jamie Caven (G)
Christian Kist 5-1 Richie George (E)
Phil Taylor 5-3 Andy Hamilton (E)
Peter Wright 5-3 Simon Whitlock (F)
James Wade 5-1 Tony O’Shea (G)
Gary Anderson 5-0 Wesley Harms (H)
Wednesday 12th November DAY 5: Second Round LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Alan Norris 5-10 Kim Huybrechts
Dave Chisnall 10-3 Robbie Green
Raymond van Barneveld 7-10 Keegan Brown
Michael van Gerwen 10-4 Terry Jenkins
Thursday 13th November DAY 6: Second Round LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Michael Smith 10-5 Christian Kist
Mervyn King 10-4 Gary Anderson
Phil Taylor 10-4 Peter Wright
Stephen Bunting 10-8 James Wade
Friday 14th November DAY 7: Quarter Finals LIVE: 7.00pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1 Dave Chisnall 16-14 Keegan Brown
Michael van Gerwen 10-16 Kim Huybrechts
Saturday 15th November DAY 8: Quarter Finals LIVE: 7.00pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1 Mervyn King v Stephen Bunting
Phil Taylor v Michael Smith
Sunday 16th November DAY 9: Semi Finals LIVE: 1.00pm-4.00pm Sky Sports 1 Kim Huybrechts v Dave Chisnall
Taylor/Smith v King/Bunting Grand Slam of Darts Final 2014 LIVE: 7.00pm-9.00pm Sky Sports 1 . .
