VAN GERWEN TO FACE SHERROCK AS 2023 GRAND SLAM DRAW CONFIRMED
Michael Smith will take on James Wade, Krzysztof Ratajski and Nathan Girvan at the 2023 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts, while Michael van Gerwen and Fallon Sherrock also collide, with the group stage draw now confirmed.
The 32-player tournament will be staged at the WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton from November 11-19, with the players competing for the coveted Eric Bristow Trophy and the £150,000 top prize.
Reigning champion Smith will headline Group A, which also features three-time runner-up Wade, Poland’s number one Ratajski and last year’s World Youth Championship finalist Girvan.
Smith celebrated his maiden televised ranking title at this event last year, and the world number one will begin the defence of his title against Scottish youngster Girvan on a bumper opening Saturday in Wolverhampton.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Van Gerwen will face 2021 quarter-finalist Sherrock in a mouth-watering group stage showdown, as the Milton Keynes star makes her third consecutive Aldersley appearance.
The pair will be joined in Group G by 2018 World Champion Rob Cross and Dutch debutant Martijn Kleermaker, who won through last week’s Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Barnsley.
Gerwyn Price, also a three-time Grand Slam winner, will meet Northern Ireland’s Nathan Rafferty in his opener, with Ryan Searle and European Championship semi-finalist Gian van Veen also starring in Group D.
Newly crowned European Champion Peter Wright will begin his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title against the enigmatic American Stowe Buntz, who sealed his qualification after winning last month’s CDC Continental Cup.
Wright, a runner-up in 2017, 2019 and 2021, will also come up against 2014 finalist Dave Chisnall and a resurgent Stephen Bunting in Group E.
Elsewhere, Women’s World Matchplay champion Beau Greaves will make her Grand Slam debut against World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall, a runner-up to Smith in last year’s tournament.
Teenage sensation Greaves – a winner of 12 PDC Women’s Series titles in 2023 – also faces Australia’s former World Cup champion Damon Heta and German Darts Championship winner Ricardo Pietreczko in Group H.
World Grand Prix champion Luke Humphries heads up a fascinating Group C, which includes Dutch star Dirk van Duijvenbode, two-time runner-up Gary Anderson and Ireland’s former World Cup finalist Steve Lennon.
Group B includes Wales’ World Cup winner Jonny Clayton and Masters champion Chris Dobey, and they will go head-to-head with World Youth Champion Josh Rock and the returning Berry van Peer – the 2023 Winmau Challenge Tour Order of Merit winner.
Meanwhile, Danny Noppert and Andrew Gilding – the last two winners of the UK Open – are joined in Group F by Northern Ireland’s Brendan Dolan and PDC Asian Champion Haruki Muramatsu.
The schedule of play for Saturday’s double-session will be confirmed in due course, with the action getting underway from 1300 GMT in Wolverhampton.
Following the conclusion of the group stage, the top two players from each group will progress to the knockout stages, which get underway from Wednesday evening.
The 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).
Group A
(1) Michael Smith
James Wade
Krzysztof Ratajski
Nathan Girvan
Group B
(8)Jonny Clayton
Chris Dobey
Josh Rock
Berry van Peer
Group C
(4)Luke Humphries
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Gary Anderson
Steve Lennon
Group D
(5) Gerwyn Price
Ryan Searle
Gian van Veen
Nathan Rafferty
Group E
(2) Peter Wright
Dave Chisnall
Stephen Bunting
Stowe Buntz
Group F
(7) Danny Noppert
Andrew Gilding
Brendan Dolan
Haruki Muramatsu
Group G
(3) Michael van Gerwen
Rob Cross
Martijn Kleermaker
Fallon Sherrock
Group H
(6) Nathan Aspinall
Damon Heta
Ricardo Pietreczko
Beau Greaves
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
