The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix gets underway this evening, as the unique double-start event returns to Leicester’s Mattioli Arena.
The 27th staging of the World Grand Prix will see reigning champion Luke Humphries headlining a star-studded 32-player field, which also includes six-time champion Michael van Gerwen.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler will also make his double-start debut in the £600,000 event, which will take place from October 7-13.
Humphries will return to the scene of his maiden televised ranking triumph in the East Midlands, having defeated Gerwyn Price in a memorable final 12 months ago.
The 29-year-old has since enjoyed a sustained spell of dominance – lifting five televised titles, including the World Darts Championship and World Matchplay – to underline his status as the sport’s premier player.
The world number one will begin his title defence on Monday’s opening night with a blockbuster clash against Masters champion Stephen Bunting, a two-time World Grand Prix semi-finalist.
“I would love to retain this title,” declared Humphries, who defeated Bunting 8-7 to win his first Players Championship title of 2024 on Thursday.
“I know I’ve got a really tough game against Stephen because he’s usually so strong on his doubles, but these are the moments I live for now.
“I want to play the best and be involved in these great games, and hopefully it’s a great World Grand Prix.
“This tournament will always hold great memories for me. The fact it was my first major tournament win makes it special, and it was the catalyst to allow me to go on and win everything else.
“Sitting here now, I’ve made eight or nine major finals in 12 months which is something quite incredible, and something I may not be able to do again!”
Premier League champion Littler will also feature on a star-studded opening night, as he takes on fourth seed Rob Cross in another fascinating encounter.
Littler has taken the darting world by storm over the last ten months, claiming nine titles in 2024 alone – three more than any other player in this year’s field.
Cross, meanwhile, has not progressed beyond the second round in seven previous World Grand Prix appearances, although he has enjoyed an impressive season to date, picking up a brace of titles.
Monday’s play will also see 2021 champion Jonny Clayton kick off his title bid against debutant Ritchie Edhouse, who landed an astonishing 120.24 average on the ProTour earlier this week.
Clayton has not featured in a TV ranking quarter-final since his run to the World Matchplay final in July 2023, although the Welshman has enjoyed a return to form over recent months, winning a Players Championship event in July.
“The double-in double-out format – what a fantastic game,” added Clayton, one of six formers champions in the field.
“This is a format that we don’t play very often, and it’s a tournament that absolutely shows your skill.
“It is great to be back. I’ve won this tournament before, so hopefully I can do it again, because I need to get my career going back in the right direction.
“I know I can do it; I have proven that I can do it, but it’s the first big event of the autumn, and we will all be going out to make a statement.
“Now when I lose a game, I’m starting to get angry again, which is the old Jonny Clayton, and that’s what I need to be!”
2022 runner-up Nathan Aspinall will also be in opening night action against Ryan Searle, as former finalists Raymond van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan face German duo Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler.
Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock will play the returning Ryan Joyce in the tournament’s curtain-raiser, before Dutch debutant Gian van Veen takes on world number ten Ross Smith in the evening’s finale.
Van Gerwen will open his challenge for a seventh World Grand Prix success against 2017 champion Daryl Gurney on Tuesday night, as the first round action draws to a close.
World number two Michael Smith and two-time World Champion Gary Anderson also go head-to-head for a place in round two, and 2020 champion Price plays Dutch number two Danny Noppert.
Two-time champion James Wade plays 2018 runner-up Peter Wright in a battle of the veterans, while Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen collide in a repeat of their quarter-final tussle back in 2023.
Dobey has scooped a hat-trick of Players Championship titles in 2024 to close in on a place in the world’s top ten, and he’s confident of transferring that form to the big stage in Leicester.
“I feel like I’ve been playing at a similar level for the last three to four years, and just not getting that luck,” claimed Dobey, a World Grand Prix semi-finalist in 2019.
“Sometimes you create your own luck and little things are going my way at the minute, and I’m playing well alongside that.
“Confidence is key, and it doesn’t bother me who is in front of us. I just play the game properly and get on with the job.
“If I can keep playing like this, I can put my name in the mix and hopefully get another major title to my name.”
Elsewhere, two-time finalist Dave Chisnall opens Tuesday’s proceedings against newcomer Cameron Menzies, UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh meets Luke Woodhouse, and Australian number one Damon Heta takes on Mike De Decker.
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
Draw Bracket
(1) Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Raymond van Barneveld v Ricardo Pietreczko
(8) Jonny Clayton v Ritchie Edhouse
Gian van Veen v Ross Smith
(4) Rob Cross v Luke Littler
Brendan Dolan v Martin Schindler
(5) Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Searle
Josh Rock v Ryan Joyce
(2) Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Mike De Decker v Damon Heta
(7) Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
Peter Wright v James Wade
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
Chris Dobey v Joe Cullen
(6) Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies
Luke Woodhouse v Dimitri Van den Bergh
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
Format
First Round – Best of Three Sets
Second Round – Best of Five Sets
Quarter-Finals – Best of Five Sets
Semi-Finals – Best of Nine Sets
Final – Best of 11 Sets
Prize Fund
Winner: £120,000
Runner-Up: £60,000
Semi-Finalists: £40,000
Quarter-Finalists: £25,000
Second Round Losers: £15,000
First Round Losers: £7,500
Total: £600,000
——-ENDS—–
