The 2026 Grand Slam of Darts gets underway this Saturday, 14 November, at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton. Sixteen group matches are scheduled for the first day, spread across two sessions, in a format where only one player from each group of three progresses to the knockout stages.
Afternoon session (2.00 pm to 6.00 pm, Paris time)
- Luke Woodhouse v Tom Sykes (Group J)
- Jermaine Wattimena v Lisa Ashton (Group B)
- Stephen Bunting v Raymond Smith (Group D)
- Ryan Searle v Charlie Manby (Group F)
- Josh Rock – Tommy Morris (Group C)
- Wessel Nijman – Adam Sevada (Group H)
- Nathan Aspinall – Maik Kuivenhoven (Group P)
- Jonny Clayton – Anton Ostlund (Group G)
Evening session (8 pm to midnight, Paris time)
- Gerwyn Price – Joe Hunt (Group E)
- James Wade v Cam Crabtree (Group K)
- Ross Smith v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (Group O)
- Michael van Gerwen v Henry Coates (Group L)
- Luke Humphries v Paolo Nebrida (Group I)
- Luke Littler v Beau Greaves (Group A)
- Gian van Veen v Carl Sneyd (Group M)
- Chris Dobey – Jan Schmidt (Group N)
Littler and Greaves: their first televised clash
The most eagerly anticipated match of the day pits defending champion Luke Littler against Beau Greaves in Group A. This will be their first televised clash, following two previous encounters on the tour. Littler won 6-5 on the ProTour last year, before Greaves took his revenge with the same scoreline in the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship.
Littler remains unbeaten in this tournament, having won two titles in a row. A third would put him on a par with Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, the only players to have achieved a hat-trick since the event’s inception in 2007. Greaves, meanwhile, has already been knocked out three times in the group stage, including twice in the deciding leg against Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson last year.
Other matches to watch
The afternoon programme features several intriguing clashes. Ryan Searle, a semi-finalist at the last World Championship and the man who threw a nine-darter here in 2023, faces debutant Charlie Manby, who won his first Players Championship title last week. Josh Rock, who qualified thanks to his victory at the Austrian Open, meets Tommy Morris, another surprise winner of a Players Championship tournament just a few days ago.
Jonny Clayton, the number 5 seed and winner of the Swiss Darts Trophy in October, begins his campaign against Sweden’s Anton Ostlund. Jermaine Wattimena, a quarter-finalist at Wolverhampton two years ago, faces Lisa Ashton, a four-time women’s world champion, who is chasing her first qualification for the main draw in her sixth appearance.
Later in the evening, Gerwyn Price, a three-time winner of the event, opens against Joe Hunt, who tops the Challenge Tour rankings. Luke Humphries, the 2023 champion, returns after an illness that ruled him out of the European Championship in October, and faces Paolo Nebrida. Michael van Gerwen, the 2017 champion, takes on Henry Coates, who is capable of winning a Players Championship title without holding a ProTour card.
A ruthless format
Group matches are played as best-of-nine legs, with the first to five winning. With three players per group and just one qualifying place, an opening defeat leaves very little room for manoeuvre over the following two days. The sixteen group winners will progress to the last 16 from next week, with a record prize fund of one million pounds up for grabs. In the UK, the entire tournament is broadcast on Sky Sports.
