HUMPHRIES TO BEGIN TITLE DEFENCE ON OPENING NIGHT IN LEICESTER
Reigning champion Luke Humphries and debutant Luke Littler will headline the opening night of the 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix on Monday October 7, with the schedule of play now confirmed for next week’s double-start event.
Humphries will begin his title defence against Masters champion Stephen Bunting, as the world number one bids to join Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen in becoming the third player to retain the coveted crown.
Monday’s opening night will see eight first round ties take place at the Mattioli Arena, as teenage sensation Littler makes his World Grand Prix debut against fourth seed Rob Cross.
2021 champion Jonny Clayton opens his challenge against newcomer Ritchie Edhouse, as 2022 runner-up Nathan Aspinall makes his big stage return against Ryan Searle.
Former finalists Raymond van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan will also feature on a star-studded evening, as they take on German duo Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler respectively.
Emerging Dutchman Gian van Veen faces world number ten Ross Smith in the evening’s finale, while Josh Rock and Ryan Joyce go head-to-head in the tournament’s curtain-raiser.
The first round will draw to a close on Tuesday evening, as six-time champion Van Gerwen continues his bid for a seventh double-start success against 2017 winner Daryl Gurney.
Michael Smith and Gary Anderson renew their rivalry in a repeat of their first round showdown at the World Matchplay, while 2020 champion Gerwyn Price enters the fray against Dutch number two Danny Noppert.
Two-time World Grand Prix winner James Wade plays 2018 runner-up Peter Wright in another blockbuster battle, as Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen collide on the World Grand Prix stage for a second straight year.
UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh kicks off his campaign against Luke Woodhouse, with Van den Bergh’s fellow Belgian Mike De Decker pitted against Australian number one Damon Heta.
Two-time runner-up Dave Chisnall will open the show in Leicester on Tuesday, and the sixth seed faces a tough test against an in-form Cameron Menzies – one of five debutants in the 32-player field.
Following the conclusion of the first round, the last 16 will take place across Wednesday October 9 and Thursday October 10, before the quarter-finals are staged on Friday October 11.
However, in a change to last year’s format, Saturday’s semi-finals on October 12 will be contested over the best of nine sets, with the final set to be played over the best of 11 sets on Sunday October 13.
The BoyleSports World Grand Prix 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).
2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix
Schedule of Play
Monday October 7 (1800 BST)
8x First Round matches
Josh Rock v Ryan Joyce
Brendan Dolan v Martin Schindler
Jonny Clayton v Ritchie Edhouse
Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Searle
Raymond van Barneveld v Ricardo Pietreczko
Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Rob Cross v Luke Littler
Gian van Veen v Ross Smith
Tuesday October 8 (1800 BST)
8x First Round matches
Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies
Luke Woodhouse v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Mike De Decker v Damon Heta
Peter Wright v James Wade
Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
Chris Dobey v Joe Cullen
Wednesday October 9 (1900 BST)
4x Second Round matches – order of games TBC
Humphries/Bunting v Van Barneveld/Pietreczko
Clayton/Edhouse v Van Veen/R Smith
Cross/Littler v Dolan/Schindler
Aspinall/Searle v Rock/Joyce
Thursday October 10 (1900 BST)
4x Second Round matches – order of games TBC
M Smith/Anderson v De Decker/Heta
Price/Noppert v Wright/Wade
Van Gerwen/Gurney v Dobey/Cullen
Chisnall/Menzies v Woodhouse/Van den Bergh
Friday October 11 (1900 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Saturday October 12 (2030 BST)
Semi-Finals
Sunday October 13 (2000 BST)
Final
——ENDS—-
