Opening day at the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts delivered exactly what we’ve come to expect – a glorious cocktail of shocks, slick performances, and a few that had you wondering if some players were still finding the oche. With the group stage being a race to five, surprises are practically built into the format.
Let’s take a look at how the afternoon unfolded across the first four groups in action…
Group B (Damon Heta, Chris Dobey, Jurjen van der Velde, Martin Lukeman)
No drama for Australia’s number one, Damon Heta, who cruised past an off-colour Martin Lukeman with ease. Heta wasn’t at his sparkling best – averaging just under 90 – but he didn’t need to be. If it had been necessary, you sense there was another gear lurking.
A comfortable 5–1 win for the Perth man felt about right.It was a similar tale in the other fixture. Chris Dobey looked levels above everyone else in the group, dismantling Jurjen van der Velde by the same 5–1 scoreline. To be fair, it might have been a different story had the Dutchman not hit just one of his seven darts at double. But he did, or rather didn’t – and this was the result.
Dobey meets Heta next in what could be a tasty clash. Winner will go through, loser will have to do more work in his third group fixture).
Group D (Gerwyn Price, James Wade, Stefan Bellmont, Ricky Evans)
This group was supposed to be a straight shootout between Gerwyn Price and James Wade. Apparently, Ricky Evans and Stefan Bellmont didn’t get that memo. Both underdogs edged their heavyweight opponents in thrilling last-leg deciders.
Rapid Ricky lived up to his name, trading blows with Price from start to finish in a quality affair that could have gone either way. When it mattered, Evans nicked it – a brilliant scalp and a reminder that nobody’s safe in this format.
As for The Machine, it was all going according to plan until it wasn’t. Wade missed four match darts across two legs and paid the price as Bellmont, the Swiss debutant, came from 3–1 down to grab a famous victory.
Tomorrow, Wade and Price face off knowing defeat could be terminal for either.
Group F (Josh Rock, Gian van Veen, Wessel Nijman, Lisa Ashton)Last year, Wessel Nijman posted three ton-plus averages and lost every match.
So, when Josh Rock averaged 109.23 and still lost this time, you can bet Nijman had a wry smile yet could empathise.
The Dutchman averaged just over a ton himself but finished far better, clawing back from 3–1 down to pip the World Cup winner in a cracking decider. Elsewhere, Gian van Veen came out of the blocks flying, racing into a 2–0 lead, and looked set for an early finish.
But Lisa Ashton, backed by a lively partisan crowd and aided by Van Veen’s wastefulness on doubles, dragged it all the way to a decider. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make the advantage of throw count, going down 5–4, but it was a valiant effort from the Lancashire Rose.
Group H (Jonny Clayton, Danny Noppert, Cam Crabtree, Lukas Wenig).
Multiple major winner Jonny Clayton faces the danger of an early exit after being thumped 5–1 by Development Tour sensation Cam Crabtree. In fairness, the Croydon youngster didn’t miss a single dart at double, while Clayton seemed determined to almost miss all of his.
When one player’s flawless and the other’s floundering, there’s only one outcome – and it wasn’t pretty for The Ferret.
Danny Noppert, meanwhile, had to dig deep after falling two legs behind to Lukas Wenig. The Freeze eventually thawed out, though it was far from vintage Noppie. Experience saw him through to a comeback win and keeps him firmly in contention for the knockouts.
And We’re Only Getting Started…Day one gave us shocks, drama, and the odd comedy of errors – in other words, everything you want from the Grand Slam.
The other four groups join the party tonight, so expect more fireworks, more chaos, and probably a few more players wondering how on earth they lost 5–1 after averaging close to 110.
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC
