Wolverhampton, opening day – take two. The second session of the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts brought more fireworks, more upsets, and a fair few eyebrow-raisers.
After a dramatic afternoon that gave us enough shocks to power the Molineux floodlights, the remaining four groups stepped up to the oche, all chasing that precious opening win.In this format, getting off to a flyer is crucial.
So, let’s see how the action unfolded across Groups A, C, E, and G, where plenty of big names featured – including a few English lads called Luke and one young woman called Beau who’s been setting the darting world alight.
Daryl Gurney 4–5 Conor Scutt (Group E)
A huge win for The Sniper, who picked the pocket of Superchin in a nervy but entertaining opener. Both players knew how important this one was – with Luke Littler lurking as their next opponent, a loss here could spell trouble.In truth, it wasn’t exactly a classic. It was more like a shootout between two with nicknames that sound like Batman’s lesser-known villains, but Scutt held his nerve. The Englishman also won his opening Grand Slam match on debut last year, bagelling Chizzy 5–0, before ultimately falling short of the knockouts – so he won’t get carried away. Gurney won’t panic either; if you’re going to lose, 5–4 is the way you want to do it.
Martin Schindler 2–5 Luke Woodhouse (Group C)
One of the three aforementioned Lukes got his campaign off to a dream start, with Woody comprehensively beating The Wall. Schindler’s not exactly fond of this tournament – five appearances, five group-stage exits – and unless he finds something fast, that unwanted streak could stretch to six.
Woodhouse, meanwhile, was excellent. A tidy 96.7 average, solid finishing, and a good leg difference to boot. With Alexis Toylo and Stephen Bunting to come, there are further tests to come. Like Scutt, Woody also won his first match on debut last year but failed to progress – a stat he’ll be determined to fix this time around.
Nathan Aspinall 3–5 Michael Smith (Group A)
Somewhere in Wolverhampton, Nathan Aspinall is either scratching his head or banging it against the nearest wall. The reason? Doubles. Horrendous, cursed doubles.
These two have shared far better battles – including the 2022 Grand Slam final, when Bully Boy claimed his long-awaited maiden TV title. But this time, The Asp couldn’t buy a finish, hitting just 13.6% on the outer ring. Smith won’t care – the performance was secondary to the result.
It’s been a while since the St Helens slinger was on our screens, and a winning return was all that mattered. Aspinall’s frustration was clear, but he’s not one to fold easily. Backed into a corner – or in this case, Group A – he usually fights his way out.
Gary Anderson 3–5 Niko Springer (Group G)
The German youngster handled his Grand Slam debut like a seasoned veteran, toppling the two-time World Champion with skill and swagger. A 152 checkout from Springer to level at 2–2 set the tone – and even at the climax with Anderson poised on tops, the 22-year-old stole the show.
Anderson has been an almost ever-present at the Grand Slam since its inception in 2007 ( one absence ) and, remarkably, has never failed to make it out of his group – thanks to darting stat-man David Shaw for that gem. But with Michael van Gerwen and Beau Greaves still to play, and probably needing to beat both, it is going to be a tough year. Then again, it’s Gary Anderson – you wouldn’t dare rule him out.
Luke Humphries 5–0 Alex Spellman (Group A)
No problem for Cool Hand Luke, who clinically dismantled the CDC Champion in a one-sided demolition job. If Niko Springer thought he had it tough on debut, Alex Spellman could argue he had it worse – facing the World No. 1 and reigning champion straight out the gate.Humphries was ruthless from start to finish, never giving the American a sniff.
A 77 average was never going to cut it, but Spellman is far better than this scoreline suggests. Maybe it was nerves, maybe jet lag – maybe both. Either way, unless he sharpens up dramatically, Bully Boy and The Asp will be queuing up for more of the same treatment.
Luke Littler 5–1 Karel Sedláček (Group E)
A perfect night completed for those called Luke – three played, three won. Not so good if you’re called Alex or Karel, both of whom were dispatched by England’s World Cup-winning duo.Sedláček, like Spellman, is better than this performance showed, but he ran into a world champion in cruise control.
Littler even went fishing for his trademark Big Fish finish but had to settle for a 25 checkout instead – not as glamorous, but just as effective.Tomorrow sees Littler take on Scutt in a mouth-watering clash, while the Czech will be hoping to finally get off the mark against Gurney. Good luck with that.
Michael van Gerwen 5–4 Beau Greaves (Group G)
Now this was box office. A thrilling, high-quality encounter that had everything – tension, class, and two players who simply refused to miss. There’s no debate anymore: Beau Greaves is world-class despite her gender. The Doncaster thrower pushed MVG all the way and looked every inch a future PDC title winner. After ten minutes of breathless scoring, it all came down to a deciding leg. Greaves threw first, but a timely 180 from Van Gerwen swung the momentum.
He missed two match darts, giving Beau a chance – she narrowly missed both of hers, and Mighty Mike pounced. A narrow defeat, but a huge statement. If Greaves beats Anderson and MVG handles Springer, she’ll be in pole position to qualify.
Group G is pure chaos – and pure entertainment.
Stephen Bunting 4–5 Alexis Toylo (Group C)
The man with more merchandise than Disneyland endured a nightmare defeat, losing 5–4 to the Filipino qualifier Alexis Toylo. To say Toylo is slow would be an understatement – there are faster cramp suffering sloths crawling about – but don’t mistake that for a lack of quality.Beating Bunting on TV takes skill, and the pace clearly rattled The Bullet.
At one point, you half expected him to nip backstage for a burger and make it back before Toylo threw his next dart. It wasn’t gamesmanship – that’s just his rhythm – but it’s hard to stay in a groove when every leg feels like a rain delay at Wimbledon.
With Schindler and Woodhouse still to come, Bunting’s campaign isn’t over yet, but it’s been a frustrating start. Time to regroup, re-focus – and possibly shave off the beard he grew during that match.
What’s Next? We go again tomorrow, when group winners face each other in a bid to seal qualification – while the losers scrap to avoid elimination.
After two days in Wolverhampton, one thing’s clear: this Grand Slam is already living up to its name.
—–Endd——
