Grand Slam of Darts

From November 8 to 16, the nineteenth edition of the Grand Slam of Darts was held in Wolverhampton. 32 players had a chance to win the coveted Eric Bristow Trophy. After nine exciting days, it was Luke Littler who managed to claim the title for the second year in a row. This time after a victory in the final over rival Luke Humphries.

In the group stage, Littler already showed that he had arrived in Wolverhampton in good form. He defeated Karel Sedlacek (5-1), Connor Scutt (5-3), and Daryl Gurney (5-1) and advanced convincingly to the knockout phase. Luke Humphries also advanced to the last sixteen with three victories (Alex Spellman 5-0, Michael Smith 5-3 with a ninedarter, and Nathan Aspinall 5-3).

Stephen Bunting surprisingly lost all his group matches, while the seeded James Wade, Gian van Veen, and Jonny Clayton also failed to advance past the group stage. Jurjen van der Velde surprisingly qualifies for the last sixteen after defeating Damon Heta and Martin Lukeman. Wessel Nijman, Michael van Gerwen, and Danny Noppert also advance to the knockout phase on behalf of The Netherlands.

In the last sixteen, Littler wins convincingly 10-4 against Nijman, while Humphries defeats another Dutchman: Van der Velde is beaten 10-3 with an average of well over 108. Noppert and Van Gerwen face off against each other to determine who advances to the quarter-finals: it is ultimately ‘The Freeze’ who manages to win 10-6. Lukas Wenig wins the all-German clash against Nike Springer (10-8), and Josh Rock, Michael Smith, Ricky Evans, and Gerwyn Price also qualify for the quarter-finals.

Littler and Rock make it a great quarter-final, but it is the defending champion who manages to win 16-12. Humphries defeats a resurgent Smith 16-8, and Noppert qualifies for the semi-finals after a 16-8 victory over Wenig. Finally, Price is in the semi-finals once again: the three-time winner defeats Evans 16-9.

Can Littler and Humphries live up to their reputation as world number 1 and 2? The answer is: yes. Both players throw a strong match and manage to reach the final: Littler faces good resistance from Noppert but still manages to win 16-9. Humphries has a much tougher time against Price but still secures a 16-13 victory.

The dream final between the last two winners never really becomes exciting: Littler is in top form and manages to keep Humphries at a sufficient distance. The final score ultimately ends 16-11 in favor of ‘The Nuke’, making him the fourth player, after Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, and Gerwyn Price, to successfully defend the Grand Slam of Darts title.