Grand Slam of Darts 2025 - Preview
The 2025 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts gets underway at Wolverhampton's WV Active Aldersley on Saturday, as World Champion Luke Littler sets his sights on back-to-back titles in the West Midlands.
The 19th staging of the unique event will see a 32-player field battling it out for 650,000 pound in prize money across nine days of action from November 8-16, with Littler aiming to become the fourth player to retain the coveted Eric Bristow Trophy.
The 32 players are split into eight groups of four in the initial round-robin phase, and the tournament will begin with a bumper double session on Saturday November 8.
Littler will open his title defence against Czech number one Karel Sedlacek on Saturday evening, having produced a staggering tournament average of 105 to triumph on his Wolverhampton debut 12 months ago. The Warrington wonderkid will also take on Northern Ireland's World Cup champion Daryl Gurney and Tour Card Holder Qualifier Connor Scutt in Group E, as he continues his pursuit of the world number one spot currently occupied by Luke Humphries.
"As I've always said, I love the Grand Slam," insisted Littler, who will become the new world number one if Humphries doesn't lift the title.
"You've got the group stage and the knockout stage. It's like the Champions League, and I've got a tough draw!
"Daryl is a very good player and he's won the World Cup this year, I've played Karel in the World Series, and Connor has obviously been playing really well, but I'm looking forward to it once again.
"I've won it before so I know how to win it, and I'm in really good form at the minute, so I've just got to keep plugging away and keep producing my best darts."
Littler will be amongst the star attractions in Saturday's evening session, as players in Groups A, C, E and G kick off their respective campaigns.
2023 champion Humphries will headline a star-studded Group A which includes 2022 champion Michael Smith and former World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall, who was the runner-up to Smith in Wolverhampton three years ago.
CDC Continental Cup champion Alex Spellman will complete Group A, and Humphries will open his title challenge against the American, as he bids to preserve his world number one status.
Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen will go head-to-head with Women's Series champion Beau Greaves in a blockbuster opening night battle, with two-time runner-up Gary Anderson and Germany's rising star Niko Springer also featuring in Group G.
Greaves has generated major headlines over recent months, securing a PDC Tour Card via the Development Tour rankings before defeating Littler on her way to progressing to the 2025 Winmau World Youth Championship final. The 21-year-old has also produced a staggering 86-match winning run on the PDC Women's Series circuit, winning 13 consecutive events to cement her reputation as one of the sport's most exciting talents.
"I've lacked confidence over the years, and I've got a little bit of it now," admitted the Doncaster trailblazer, who has beaten Ricardo Pietreczko and Cameron Menzies in her previous appearances at the Grand Slam.
"I'm playing some really good stuff in patches, but I think I can still improve. I absolutely love playing, I love the competitiveness of it all, so that drives me on.
"I've got a lot more experience now, so I think my mindset will be a little bit different. I think in the past I've just wanted to perform, but now I want to win and have a good run.
"You're playing against the best players in the world so it will be tough, but I always enjoy playing in Wolverhampton, and I'm looking forward to going back this year."
Group C will be spearheaded by world number four Stephen Bunting and German number one Martin Schindler, who will take on PDC Asian Tour winner Alexis Toylo and Tour Card Holder Qualifier Luke Woodhouse respectively in their opening round-robin ties.
The afternoon session sees players in Groups B, D, F and H enter the fray, as newly crowned European Champion Gian van Veen begins his bid for successive televised ranking titles.
The 23-year-old has been pitted against world number ten Josh Rock and his fellow Dutchman Wessel Nijman for a second straight year, as Women's World Matchplay champion Lisa Ashton completes a star-studded Group F.
"If you look at pot three, I think Wessel Nijman was one of the hardest draws you could have got," admitted Van Veen, who will play Ashton in his opening encounter on Saturday.
"Josh Rock is also a fantastic player, in really good form this year. Lisa Ashton won the Women's World Matchplay, so it's going to be a really tough group.
"I feel really good though, of course, and I got a massive confidence boost from Dortmund. I have been living on cloud nine!"
Three-time champion Gerwyn Price and world number five James Wade - a Grand Slam runner-up in 2010, 2016 and 2020 - will star in Group D, as they take on Ricky Evans and Stefan Bellmont in their respective openers.
Welsh number one Jonny Clayton plays Development Tour winner Cam Crabtree in another eye-catching clash, while Dutch number three Danny Noppert goes up against German newcomer Lukas Wenig in the afternoon's other Group H tussle.
Chris Dobey faces 2024 World Youth Championship runner-up Jurjen van der Velde in his first Group B assignment, after Australian number one Damon Heta and last year's finalist Martin Lukeman go head-to-head in the second game of the session.
The group stage action continues on Sunday as Saturday's winning players lock horns, while the losing players also collide before the final round-robin games are held across Monday and Tuesday.
The top two players from each group will advance to the knockout stage, with the last 16 action getting underway on Wednesday November 12 and running through to the semi-finals and final on Sunday November 16, where the battle to lift the Eric Bristow Trophy reaches a thrilling finale.
The 2025 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
The 19th staging of the unique event will see a 32-player field battling it out for 650,000 pound in prize money across nine days of action from November 8-16, with Littler aiming to become the fourth player to retain the coveted Eric Bristow Trophy.
The 32 players are split into eight groups of four in the initial round-robin phase, and the tournament will begin with a bumper double session on Saturday November 8.
Littler will open his title defence against Czech number one Karel Sedlacek on Saturday evening, having produced a staggering tournament average of 105 to triumph on his Wolverhampton debut 12 months ago. The Warrington wonderkid will also take on Northern Ireland's World Cup champion Daryl Gurney and Tour Card Holder Qualifier Connor Scutt in Group E, as he continues his pursuit of the world number one spot currently occupied by Luke Humphries.
"As I've always said, I love the Grand Slam," insisted Littler, who will become the new world number one if Humphries doesn't lift the title.
"You've got the group stage and the knockout stage. It's like the Champions League, and I've got a tough draw!
"Daryl is a very good player and he's won the World Cup this year, I've played Karel in the World Series, and Connor has obviously been playing really well, but I'm looking forward to it once again.
"I've won it before so I know how to win it, and I'm in really good form at the minute, so I've just got to keep plugging away and keep producing my best darts."
Littler will be amongst the star attractions in Saturday's evening session, as players in Groups A, C, E and G kick off their respective campaigns.
Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen will go head-to-head with Women's Series champion Beau Greaves in a blockbuster opening night battle, with two-time runner-up Gary Anderson and Germany's rising star Niko Springer also featuring in Group G.
Greaves has generated major headlines over recent months, securing a PDC Tour Card via the Development Tour rankings before defeating Littler on her way to progressing to the 2025 Winmau World Youth Championship final. The 21-year-old has also produced a staggering 86-match winning run on the PDC Women's Series circuit, winning 13 consecutive events to cement her reputation as one of the sport's most exciting talents.
"I've lacked confidence over the years, and I've got a little bit of it now," admitted the Doncaster trailblazer, who has beaten Ricardo Pietreczko and Cameron Menzies in her previous appearances at the Grand Slam.
"I'm playing some really good stuff in patches, but I think I can still improve. I absolutely love playing, I love the competitiveness of it all, so that drives me on.
"I've got a lot more experience now, so I think my mindset will be a little bit different. I think in the past I've just wanted to perform, but now I want to win and have a good run.
"You're playing against the best players in the world so it will be tough, but I always enjoy playing in Wolverhampton, and I'm looking forward to going back this year."
Group C will be spearheaded by world number four Stephen Bunting and German number one Martin Schindler, who will take on PDC Asian Tour winner Alexis Toylo and Tour Card Holder Qualifier Luke Woodhouse respectively in their opening round-robin ties.
The afternoon session sees players in Groups B, D, F and H enter the fray, as newly crowned European Champion Gian van Veen begins his bid for successive televised ranking titles.
The 23-year-old has been pitted against world number ten Josh Rock and his fellow Dutchman Wessel Nijman for a second straight year, as Women's World Matchplay champion Lisa Ashton completes a star-studded Group F.
"If you look at pot three, I think Wessel Nijman was one of the hardest draws you could have got," admitted Van Veen, who will play Ashton in his opening encounter on Saturday.
"Josh Rock is also a fantastic player, in really good form this year. Lisa Ashton won the Women's World Matchplay, so it's going to be a really tough group.
"I feel really good though, of course, and I got a massive confidence boost from Dortmund. I have been living on cloud nine!"
Three-time champion Gerwyn Price and world number five James Wade - a Grand Slam runner-up in 2010, 2016 and 2020 - will star in Group D, as they take on Ricky Evans and Stefan Bellmont in their respective openers.
Welsh number one Jonny Clayton plays Development Tour winner Cam Crabtree in another eye-catching clash, while Dutch number three Danny Noppert goes up against German newcomer Lukas Wenig in the afternoon's other Group H tussle.
Chris Dobey faces 2024 World Youth Championship runner-up Jurjen van der Velde in his first Group B assignment, after Australian number one Damon Heta and last year's finalist Martin Lukeman go head-to-head in the second game of the session.
The group stage action continues on Sunday as Saturday's winning players lock horns, while the losing players also collide before the final round-robin games are held across Monday and Tuesday.
The top two players from each group will advance to the knockout stage, with the last 16 action getting underway on Wednesday November 12 and running through to the semi-finals and final on Sunday November 16, where the battle to lift the Eric Bristow Trophy reaches a thrilling finale.
The 2025 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).