| Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts | |
|---|---|
 The stage at the2022 edition | |
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Civic Hall (2007–17) WV Active - Aldersley (2018–19, 2021–) Ricoh Arena (2020) |
| Location | Wolverhampton (2007–19, 2021–) Coventry (2020) |
| Country | England |
| Established | 2007 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC BDO (until 2020) |
| Format | Legs |
| Prize fund | £650,000 (2022) |
| Month(s) Played | November |
| Current champion(s) | |
 Luke Littler | |
TheGrand Slam of Darts is adarts tournament organised by theProfessional Darts Corporation and is known as theMr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts for sponsorship purposes.[1] The PDC used to invite the best performing players from its rival, theBritish Darts Organisation (which went into liquidation in September 2020). There have been two previous head-to-head matches between the champions of the two organisations and a few overseas tournaments have also featured BDO v PDC clashes, but this tournament is the first of its kind to be held in theUnited Kingdom. This arrangement lasted until the BDO's collapse intoliquidation in 2020[2] and it is unclear whether any other organisation will be invited in future.
Since the2015 edition the tournament is classified as a ranking-tournament, being a non-ranking event at previous editions.
Up until 2017, the tournament was staged each November at theWolverhampton Civic Hall since it began in2007.Phil Taylor won the first three finals againstAndy Hamilton in2007,Terry Jenkins in2008 andScott Waites in2009. Taylor did not reach the final in2010, losing toSteve Beaton in the quarter-finals.[3] Scott Waites won that year, beatingJames Wade 16–12 in the final having trailed 8–0, making him the only BDO player to win the title. Taylor reclaimed the title in2011, defeating Gary Anderson 16–4.Raymond van Barneveld defeatedMichael van Gerwen 16–14 in the2012 final, but Taylor regained the trophy in2013, retained it in2014, before losing to van Gerwen in2015. Van Gerwen then retained it in2016 and again in2017 before Gerwyn Price won the trophy for the first time in2018.
In May 2018, the PDC announced that the Grand Slam of Darts trophy would be renamed in honour of the recently deceasedEric Bristow.[4]
That year, with renovations being done to the Civic Hall, the Grand Slam was moved to a new venue, WV Active - Aldersley formerly Aldersley Leisure Village, which is located around 3 miles north-west of Wolverhampton City Centre. Three Grand Slam of Darts events atAldersley were won byGerwyn Price (2018, 2019, 2021). In 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the event was held at theRicoh Arena inCoventrybehind closed doors, and was won byJosé de Sousa. The 2021 edition saw the Grand Slam return to the WV Active - Aldersley where it has been held since.
| Year | Champion(average in final) | Ch's org | Score | Runner-up(average in final) | Prize money | Sponsor | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Champion | Runner-up | |||||||
| 2007 | Phil Taylor(101.75) | PDC | 18–11 | Andy Hamilton(100.97) | £300,000 | £80,000 | £35,000 | PartyBets.com | Civic Hall,Wolverhampton |
| 2008 | Phil Taylor(106.25) | 18–9 | Terry Jenkins(100.92) | £356,000 | £100,000 | £40,000 | PartyPoker.com | ||
| 2009 | Phil Taylor(103.94) | 16–2 | Scott Waites(94.16) | £400,000 | £50,000 | ||||
| 2010 | Scott Waites(99.86) | BDO | 16–12 | James Wade(92.79) | Daily Mirror | ||||
| 2011 | Phil Taylor(109.04) | PDC | 16–4 |  Gary Anderson(98.92) | William Hill | ||||
| 2012 |  Raymond van Barneveld(95.79) | 16–14 | Michael van Gerwen(98.55) | ||||||
| 2013 | Phil Taylor(98.14) | 16–6 | Robert Thornton(97.02) | ||||||
| 2014 | Phil Taylor(102.45) | 16–13 | Dave Chisnall(98.02) | Singha Beer | |||||
| 2015 | Michael van Gerwen(100.94) | 16–13 | Phil Taylor(102.53) | ||||||
| 2016 | Michael van Gerwen(98.74) | 16–8 | James Wade(90.73) | ||||||
| 2017 | Michael van Gerwen(102.18) | 16–12 | Peter Wright(97.71) | £450,000 | £110,000 | £55,000 | Bwin | ||
| 2018 |  Gerwyn Price(96.70) | 16–13 | Gary Anderson(97.25) | WV Active - Aldersley, Wolverhampton | |||||
| 2019 | Gerwyn Price(107.86) | 16–6 | Peter Wright(96.28) | £550,000 | £125,000 | £65,000 | BoyleSports | ||
| 2020 |  José de Sousa(99.95) | 16–12 | James Wade(94.26) | Ricoh Arena,Coventry | |||||
| 2021 | Gerwyn Price(103.90) | 16–8 | Peter Wright(91.51) | Cazoo | WV Active - Aldersley, Wolverhampton | ||||
| 2022 | Michael Smith(96.84) | 16–5 | Nathan Aspinall(90.94) | £650,000 | £150,000 | £70,000 | |||
| 2023 | Luke Humphries(104.69) | 16–8 | Rob Cross(103.61) | Mr Vegas | |||||
| 2024 | Luke Littler(107.08) | 16–3 | Martin Lukeman(93.42) | ||||||
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Won | Runner-up | Finals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Taylor | England | 6 | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen | Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| 3 | Gerwyn Price | Wales | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | Scott Waites | England | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Luke Humphries | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Luke Littler | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Smith | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| José de Sousa | Portugal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 9 | James Wade | England | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Peter Wright | Scotland | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | |
| 11 | Gary Anderson | Scotland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 12 | Nathan Aspinall | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Dave Chisnall | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| Rob Cross | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| Andy Hamilton | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Terry Jenkins | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| Martin Lukeman | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Robert Thornton | Scotland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Country | Players | Total | First title | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 5 | 10 | 2007 | 2024 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 4 | 2012 | 2017 |
| Wales | 1 | 3 | 2018 | 2021 |
| Portugal | 1 | 1 | 2020 | 2020 |
Sixnine-darters have been thrown at the Grand Slam of Darts. The first one was in 2008.
| Player | Year (+ Round) | Method | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Wade | 2008, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Gary Anderson | Lost |
 Kim Huybrechts | 2014, Quarter-Final | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Michael van Gerwen | Won |
| Dave Chisnall | 2015, Group Stage | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Peter Wright | Won |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh | 2018, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Stephen Bunting | Won |
 Josh Rock | 2022, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Michael van Gerwen | Lost |
| Ryan Searle | 2023, Group Stage | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Nathan Rafferty | Won |
| Ten highest Grand Slam of Darts one-match winning averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 115.19 | Michael van Gerwen | 2021, Group Stage | Joe Cullen | 5–2 |
| 114.85 | Dimitri Van den Bergh | 2020, Group Stage | Ricky Evans | 5–1 |
| 114.71 | Gian van Veen | 2024, Group Stage | Stephen Bunting | 5–1 |
| 114.65 | Phil Taylor | 2014, Group Stage | Christian Kist | 5–1 |
| 113.86 | Geert De Vos | 2015, Group Stage | Jonny Clayton | 5–0 |
| 113.62 | Michael Smith | 2019, Group Stage | Nathan Aspinall | 5–1 |
| 113.20 | Gary Anderson | 2024, Group Stage | Ryan Joyce | 5–1 |
| 112.66 | Michael van Gerwen | 2018, Group Stage | Gary Robson | 5–1 |
| 112.54 | Gary Anderson | 2018, Group Stage | Ian White | 5–1 |
| 112.37 | Phil Taylor | 2011, 2nd Round | Wes Newton | 10–3 |
| Five highest one-match losing averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 111.10 | Wessel Nijman | 2024, Group Stage | Gian van Veen | 4–5 |
| 110.99 | Adrian Lewis | 2013, Semi-Final | Phil Taylor | 9–16 |
| 109.15 |  Martin Schindler | 2024, Group Stage | Danny Noppert | 2–5 |
| 108.68 | Adrian Lewis | 2016, Group Stage | Chris Dobey | 3–5 |
| 107.92 | Michael van Gerwen | 2018, Group Stage | Jonny Clayton | 4–5 |
| Five highest tournament averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year | ||
| 107.67 | Wessel Nijman | 2024 | ||
| 106.58 | Gian van Veen | 2024 | ||
| 105.81 | Luke Littler | 2024 | ||
| 105.42 | Michael van Gerwen | 2015 | ||
| 105.12 | Michael van Gerwen | 2017 | ||
There have been previous tournaments in which players from both the PDC and BDO have competed. Between 1997 and 2001, several BDO players competed in theWorld Matchplay and theWorld Grand Prix – this was as a result of a1997 Tomlin Order which allowed freedom of players to enter more events. This was later restricted from the start of 2002 onwards, when eligibility rules allowed onlyProfessional Dart Players Association members to compete in the tournaments.
The2005 Masters of Darts was the first tournament to feature the top players from each organisation. In 2006 and 2007, followingRaymond van Barneveld's move to the PDC, the Dutch organisers of theInternational Darts League andWorld Darts Trophy invited some top PDC players to compete alongside BDO players.
As the Grand Slam is an invitational tournament for players who have reached major finals and semi-finals, or been the top of their countries' respective rankings, there is a certain degree of prestige attached to qualifying for the tournament, and even more for entrants who qualify multiple times.Gary Anderson andJames Wade qualified for 15 successive tournaments between 2007 and 2021, before missing their first event in 2022.
ITV screened the first four editions of the Grand Slam of Darts, which ended their 19-year absence from regular darts coverage (although they did show a one-off Clash of Champions match betweenPhil Taylor andRaymond van Barneveld in 1999).[6] The inaugural event saw selected first-round games, the semi-finals, and the final all screened live onITV1 and the rest of the tournament live onITV4 but the live coverage was moved entirely to ITV4 in subsequent years, with highlights packages being the only coverage of the event on ITV1.
The tournament proved popular on ITV4, with the 2009 event achieving nine out of the top ten places in the channel's output for that week. Viewing figures ranged from 208,000 to 435,000 with the final itself watched by 454,000.[7] ITV extended their contract with the PDC to show the tournament until at least 2010.[8]
The presenting team consisted of lead presenterMatt Smith, and analystsAlan Warriner-Little andChris Mason (who replacedSteve Beaton in 2008). The commentating team includedStuart Pyke, who also commentates on darts forSky Sports, boxing commentatorJohn Rawling, andPeter Drury.Janie Omorogbe provided reporting duties and player interviews.
On 25 January 2011, it was announced thatSky Sports would broadcast the event until 2018.[9][10] Sky continues to air the event with its current deal running until 2025.
The sponsors of the event were PartyBets.com (2007) and PartyPoker.com (2008–09), websites operated byBwin.Party Digital Entertainment, theDaily Mirror newspaper (2010),William Hill (2011–13),Singha Beer (2014–16),[11]bwin (2017–18) andBoyleSports (2019–2020).Cazoo took over as sponsors from 2021, as part of a deal where they will also sponsor thePDC World Cup of Darts and theEuropean Championship. In October 2023, Mr Vegas was named as title sponsor.[1]
