Grand Slam of Darts

The 16th edition of the Grand Slam of Darts was held at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton from 12 to 20 November 2022. It is Michael Smith who wins his first major television title ever. He convincingly beats Nathan Aspinall 16-5 in the final.

In the group stage there is only one big surprise, the number two in the world Peter Wright flies out. He does win two matches, but on leg difference he still has to leave the tournament. The strong play of Raymond van Barneveld is surprising, he beats Gerwyn Price, Dave Chisnall and Ted Evetts in his group to qualify for the last 16. It is a good year for the Dutch in the group stage, all five survive the group phase . In addition to Van Barneveld, these are Danny Noppert, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Michael van Gerwen and Jermaine Wattimena.

In the first knockout round, three seeded players must bow out. Danny Noppert loses to Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross must bow his head to Michael Smith. But the biggest surprise is the elimination of Johnny Clayton, he loses to the Scotsman Alan Soutar. The match between Michael van Gerwen and Josh Rock will be a true Grand Slam classic with two players showing fantastic play, a nine-darter from Josh Rock, two averages well over 100 and a 10-8 victory for Michael van Gerwen. Raymond van Barneveld also survives this round, beating Simon Whitlock 10-8.

The following surprises follow in the quarterfinals. Luke Humphries surprisingly knocks out Michael van Gerwen, who had played so magnificently the previous round and even more surprisingly Raymond van Barneveld wins for the second time this tournament against Gerwyn Price. This time it ends 16-13. Furthermore, Nathan Aspinall beats qualifier Alan Soutar and Michael Smith beats Joe Cullen in a 31st and deciding leg.

In the semi-final it ends for Van Barneveld, he can keep up with Michael Smith for a long time but ultimately has to acknowledge superiority in the Englishman with 16-12. In the other semi-final it is Nathan Aspinall who wins an exciting match against Humphries 16-12. In the final, which is played on the same evening as the semi-finals, Nathan Aspinall's energy is exhausted, he does not come into play against bully boy and loses without a chance with 16-5.

After seven consecutive major finals that Michael Smith has lost, bully boy finally hits the spot. He wins the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts.