In the spring of 2007 the PDC announce this new tournament for the autumn. PDC opens its doors with love to the top players of the BDO and calls it the Grand Slam of Darts. All major finalists in all TV events for the prior two years, both BDO and PDC, qualify for the event. Added to this are the losing semi finalists of both world championships of these years. The event, held in Wolverhampton, has arguably the best field of players in any darts tournament. The first round is always played in groups of 4 players, the top 2 go through to the second round and from that stage it's knockout.
In the first year there are two surprises. Kevin McDine is the biggest, he was an unknown until then but played the tournament of his life. After he has come through the group stage, he defeats James Wade in round 2 with an average over 105. He then goes on to beat Jelle Klaasen in the quarterfinals 10-3. In the semi-final it's another surprise, Andy Hamilton, who stops him. The two players go the distance, Hamilton eventually prevails 13-12 in a thrilling game. Hamilton will later loose the final to Phil Taylor 11-18. Taylor has just beaten the BDO number 1, Gary Anderson in the semifinal with 13-11. In that first year, 6 Dutch are in it. Michael van Gerwen, Niels de Ruiter and Vincent van der Voort do not survive the group stage. Raymond van Barneveld and Roland Scholten loose in the second round and the best Dutchman is therefore the aforementioned Jelle Klaasen who