| Grand Slam of Darts | |
 |
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| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Civic Hall |
| Location | Wolverhampton |
| Country | England |
| Established | 2007 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC BDO (by invite) |
| Format | Legs |
| Prize Fund | £400,000 (2009) |
| Month(s) Played | November |
| Current champion(s) | |
 Phil Taylor |
|
The Grand Slam of Darts is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The PDC also invites the best performing players from its rival the British Darts Organisation. There have been two previous head-to-head matches between the champions of the two organisation 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 the United Kingdom.
The inaugural tournament took place in 2007, and was staged at the Wolverhampton Civic between 17 November and 25 November. Phil Taylor won the title, beating Andy Hamilton 18-11 in the final.
The 2008 Grand Slam of Darts, the second staging of the tournament, took place from Saturday 15 November to Sunday 23 November 2008 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall. Taylor successfully defended his title, with a 18 legs to 9 victory over Terry Jenkins.
Contents |
Results
| Year | Champion (average in final) | Score | Runner-Up (average in final) | Sponsor | Prize Fund | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Phil Taylor 101.75 |
18-11 | Andy Hamilton 100.97 |
PartyBets.com | £300,000 | £80,000 | £35,000 |
| 2008 | Phil Taylor 106.25 |
18-9 | Terry Jenkins 100.92 |
PartyPoker.com | £356,000 | £100,000 | £40,000 |
| 2009 | Phil Taylor 103.94 |
16-2 | Scott Waites 94.16 |
PartyPoker.com | £400,000 | £100,000 | £50,000 |
Previous BDO v PDC tournaments
There have been previous tournaments in which players from both the PDC and BDO have competed. Between 1998 and 2001 several BDO players competed in the World Matchplay - this was as a result of a 1997 Tomlin Order which allowed freedom of players to enter more events. This was later restricted when eligibility rules allowed only Professional Dart Players Association members to compete in the tournament.
The 2005 Masters of Darts was the first tournament to feature the top players from each organisation, and in 2006 and 2007 the Dutch organisers of the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy invited some PDC players to compete alongside BDO players.
Perennial participants
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. Sixteen players have appeared in all three tournaments so far.
Television coverage
ITV has screened the Grand Slam of Darts since its inception. The inaugural event saw selected first round games, the semi-finals, and the final all screened live on ITV1 and the rest of the tournament live on ITV4. However the whole of the 2008 event was broadcast live on ITV4, with highlights packages being the only coverage of the tournament to appear on ITV1.
This is ITV's first televised darts tournament since they ceased coverage of the Winmau World Masters in 1988 - although they did show the first Clash of Champions match between Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld in 1999.[1] The event will now remain on the ITV channels and on itv.com until at least 2010.[2]
The presenting team consists of lead presenter Matt Smith, and analysts Alan Warriner-Little and Chris Mason (who replaced Steve Beaton in 2008). The commentating team involves Stuart Pyke, who also commentates on televised PDC games on Sky Sports, boxing commentator John Rawling, and Peter Drury.
References
External links
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