The radio stations and shops up and down the land tell me Christmas is coming but of more importance to me is the upcoming Grand Slam of Darts, the annual week long jamboree where the PDC and the BDO get together for a good old slugfest to determine who is, in theory, the best dartist on the planet.
The best players in the PDC are in this tournament and the BDO have sent the strongest eight they have ever entered into the event so we are set for nine days of top class darts in Wolverhampton.
Recent Winners
2015 – Michael van Gerwen
2014 – Phil Taylor
2013 – Phil Taylor
2012 – Raymond Barneveld
2011 – Phil Taylor
2010 – Scott Waites
2009 – Phil Taylor
2008 – Phil Taylor
2007 – Phil Taylor
The Format
The 32 men have been drawn into eight groups of four with a BDO player in each of them. Everybody plays each other once in the group over the best of nine legs with the top two going into the knockout stages. Any ties will be separated by a nine dart shootout.
From the last 16 onwards the tournament is a straight knockout. The last 16 is over the best of 19 legs with the quarter finals, semi-finals and the final all over the longer distance of the best of 31 legs.
Groups A and B
Michael van Gerwen is the top seed in Group A and he’ll be out to defend the title and win a staggering 24th PDC title of the calendar year. To do that he will need to come through a group which also contains Martin Adams, Max Hopp and Brendan Dolan.
Robert Thornton is a former finalist in this tournament and he heads the way in Group B. He is joined in that section by the BDO world champion and former winner here Scott Waites. Gerwyn Price and Dimitri van den Bergh are the other two in the section.
Groups C and D
It is Peter Wright who tops the charts in the third group of the tournament. Despite not having won a TV tournament he gets that role based on his world ranking. Simon Whitlock is set to give him a significant run for his money in the group while Ted Evetts and Jeff Smith will look to cause mayhem too.
Group D has the six time champion Phil Taylor in it. He will be looking for a seventh Grand Slam title and will be expected to come through a group containing Ian White and Darren Webster from the PDC as well as Darryl Fitton from the BDO.
Groups E and F
The PDC world champion Gary Anderson is the main draw in Group E. All the attention will be on him but the BDO number one Glen Durrant will claim enough of it himself amid talk that he’ll be a PDC player in three months’ time. Alan Norris and Nathan Derry will be looking for headlines of their own.
It looks like a two horse race in Group F as the man of the moment Mensur Suljovic and the former champion Raymond Barneveld look set to battle it out for the top spot but that could be being disrespectful to Nathan Aspinall and Danny Noppert who will be looking to show their talents.
Groups G and H
There is always a group of death in these things and this year it is Group G where PDC Premier League stars James Wade and Dave Chisnall, both beaten finalists in the tournament in the past, are joined by James Wilson and the BDO star Jamie Hughes.
Adrian Lewis doesn’t have the best record in this tournament but he does have the chance to better it as he is the leading light in Group H. Former Lakeside champion Scott Mitchell may rate as his main danger although Benito van de Pas and Chris Dobey will be out to prove that isn’t the case.
Betting
There are some top players in this tournament and we are almost guaranteed a decent week of darts but in terms of an outright bet it is all about the players in Groups E-H for me because I don’t want any of Michael van Gerwen before the final when we would have a place payout secured on an each way bet.
In terms of names Gary Anderson, James Wade and Adrian Lewis look the main men in this half of the draw but Lewis’ record here is awful, Anderson is getting used to wearing glasses when he is playing and Wade hasn’t convinced me in this tournament since he surrendered that massive lead in the final to Scott Waites in 2010.
Mensur Suljovic is a man in form but he doesn’t have much experience over the very longest formats on the television which is a negative. Raymond Barneveld has the draw to go deep but his recent form doesn’t inspire confidence either.
Dave Chisnall showed he is in good touch when he made the semi-final of the World Series Finals last week and there is absolutely no disgrace in finding Michael van Gerwen too good for him in the last four. He won’t face van Gerwen until the final this time and the main seeds in his quarter are Wade and Lewis but he has a winning record over Lewis and Wade doesn’t look on top form so this could be the week Chisnall makes another TV final.
I’m always a sucker for a bet on a BDO player in this tournament because they are always criminally underrated and the same applies this year. In this case the man I like is Glen Durrant. Let us make no mistake Durrant might be on the BDO circuit but he is a world class darts player who could do some real damage in this tournament if he can settle into it. I do worry a little that nerves will get to him but if they don’t he can show his class and go the distance like Scott Waites did a few years ago.
Tips
Back D.Chisnall to win Grand Slam of Darts (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Winner Sports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back G.Durrant to win Grand Slam of Darts (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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