From dream draw to group of death: the chances of the seven Dutch players at the Grand Slam of Darts

The Grand Slam of Darts 2026 is just around the corner, and several Dutch players are once again preparing for one of the autumn’s biggest tournaments. Wolverhampton presents a special challenge: the group stage leaves little room for error from the very first match. A favourable draw can open the door to the knockout stage, while a tough group can cause problems early on.

Seven Dutch players will compete at the Grand Slam: Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, Wessel Nijman, Niels Zonneveld, Jermaine Wattimena, Kevin Doets and Maik Kuivenhoven. But which Dutch players have the best chance of surviving the group stage? Who has benefited from the draw, and who faces an early exit? We take a closer look at the groups featuring Dutch players and assess their chances of reaching the knockout stage.

We begin our analysis with Niels Zonneveld, and for good reason. The Dutchman has certainly not been fortunate with his draw. In fact, it is fair to call Group A a group of death. ‘Triple Z’ is joined by world champion Luke Littler and the greatest female darts player of all time, Beau Greaves.

With only the group winners advancing to the knockout stage, this looks like a formidable challenge for the Dutchman. Luke Littler has won this tournament for the past two years and is the player everyone would prefer to avoid. Beau Greaves, meanwhile, has already shown this year that she can beat anyone on tour, including by winning a Players Championship title.

Still, Littler and Greaves are unlikely to be thrilled about having Zonneveld in their group. The Dutchman recently claimed his first European Tour title at the Dutch Darts Championship and has been in good form over the past few months.

On paper, Littler is the clear favourite to top the group. But with the group-stage matches played over a short best-of-nine-legs format, anything can happen. ‘The Nuke’ is hard to beat over a longer format, but Greaves and Zonneveld are both capable of defeating the world champion in these short matches. That makes this by far the tournament’s most intriguing group. Can Littler live up to his billing as favourite? Could Greaves pull off a major upset, or will Zonneveld carry his recent form forward and send both English talents home early? This group could go in any direction.

Michael van Gerwen has drawn a much more favourable group, but must be careful not to underestimate his opponents. The three-time Grand Slam of Darts champion is in Group L with Dutch-born Swede Jeffrey de Graaf and rising talent Henry Coates. On paper, Van Gerwen should be capable of topping the group, but his inconsistent form this year means he will not travel to Wolverhampton with complete confidence.

Even so, Van Gerwen showed flashes of his ability at last week’s final two Players Championship events in Leicester. He reached the semi-finals at the penultimate event, recording three averages above 100 during the day, and made the quarter-finals at the final event. If he can bring that level to the Grand Slam, De Graaf and Coates look unlikely to trouble him. But if he struggles on the big stage again, both opponents will have a chance.

De Graaf and Coates both qualified for the Grand Slam by winning a Players Championship title this year. De Graaf claimed Event 19, beating Josh Rock, Wessel Nijman, Luke Woodhouse and Jonny Clayton along the way. Coates won Event 25, defeating Damon Heta 8-4 in the final. The 20-year-old Englishman also won a Development Tour event.

With only the group winner progressing, the task looks difficult for De Graaf and Coates. But Van Gerwen has shown more than once this year that he does not always deliver. If the Dutchman arrives in Wolverhampton short of his best form, his two opponents will have genuine opportunities to spring a surprise.

Of all the Dutch players, Gian van Veen appears to have one of the easier groups on paper. ‘The Giant’ is in Group M alongside Bradley Brooks and Carl Sneyd. Frankly, the world number three is expected to top this group.

Brooks and Sneyd both qualified for the Grand Slam through the final Tour Card Holder Qualifier. Brooks arguably made the biggest impression. With averages of 102.98, 102.17 and 106.31, he beat Darryl Pilgrim 5-4, Wesley Plaisier 5-1 and Dave Chisnall 5-2. That shows ‘Bam Bam’ is certainly in form. Sneyd overcame Daryl Gurney 5-4, Mensur Suljovic 5-3 and Andy Boulton 5-2, impressing particularly against Suljovic with an average of over 103.

Van Veen will nevertheless start as the clear favourite to win this group, mainly because Brooks and Sneyd have little experience in major televised tournaments. Brooks has played in a few televised events, but has never really made his mark on the big stage. His best result came at the 2020 UK Open, where he reached the fourth round. In every other major, he has been eliminated in either the first or second round.

For Sneyd, this will be only his second appearance at a major. The 39-year-old also made his UK Open debut this year, but lost his opening match 6-4 to Jack Todd. Sneyd will most likely be looking to gain experience on the big stage. So if there is an upset in this group, it will probably have to come from Brooks. That looks unlikely, however.

Wessel Nijman is in Group H, where he will need to keep a close eye on Germany’s Niko Springer. American Adam Sevada completes the group.

Nijman is one of the players who has truly broken through in 2026. The Dutchman has won no fewer than six Players Championship events and has also claimed two Euro Tours. He finished well clear at the top of the ProTour Order of Merit and has since climbed to 13th in the overall world rankings. Even so, he has yet to find his best form at the majors this year.

Nijman is still waiting for his first quarter-final at a major televised tournament. The Grand Slam offers an ideal chance to end that run, but the short format also brings its risks. The Dutchman knows all too well that even strong performances may not be enough to avoid elimination in the group stage. At the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts, Nijman was drawn in a group with Gian van Veen, Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting. He averaged 106.51, 105.39 and even 111.10 across those three matches, yet finished bottom of the group with zero points.

This year, the route to the knockout stage looks fairly open. Adam Sevada, who qualified by winning the North American Championship, should not pose a major problem. The danger lies in Nijman’s second opponent, Niko Springer. The German has shown some excellent form at times, and with only the group winner advancing under the new format, one strong performance from Springer could derail Nijman’s campaign. Their match will probably decide who reaches the knockout stage and who heads home after the group phase.

Jermaine Wattimena has been handed a favourable draw. “The Machine Gun” is in Group B, where he will face Alan Soutar and Lisa Ashton. On paper, the current world number 18 should have little trouble progressing.

Lisa Ashton qualified as the number two on the Women’s Series Order of Merit. “The Lancashire Rose” is making her sixth appearance at the Grand Slam, a tournament where she has yet to enjoy much success. In fact, across her previous five appearances, she has never won a group match.

Soutar qualified through the final Tour Card Holder Qualifier. He beat Martin Lukeman (5-4), Madars Razma (5-3), Mickey Mansell (5-2) and Mike De Decker (5-3) in succession. The Scot will therefore make his second appearance at the Grand Slam. He sprang a surprise on his debut in 2022, progressing from a group featuring Nathan Aspinall, Peter Wright and Fallon Sherrock before also defeating Jonny Clayton in the last 16. He fell in the quarter-finals, however, losing to Nathan Aspinall for a second time.

Soutar is not currently enjoying the best spell of his career, while Ashton’s Grand Slam record is poor. Wattimena should therefore progress through the group without much difficulty.

Kevin Doets has been drawn in one of the tougher groups. He faces current world number eight Josh Rock and Tommy Morris, who recently made history on the floor.

Morris may be one of the least familiar names in the field. The 34-year-old Englishman does not hold a Tour Card, yet he has earned his place at the Grand Slam of Darts through his floor performances. He made a surprise run to a Players Championship final, where Chris Dobey proved too strong. Then, at last week’s final floor event, he stunned everyone by reaching another final and defeating none other than Luke Humphries. The victory earned him his first PDC title and secured places at the Grand Slam, the Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship.

On paper, some might expect this group to come down to Kevin Doets and Josh Rock. But Morris is certainly not a player to underestimate. It remains to be seen how he will perform on his debut.

Although Rock is the favourite on paper, Doets has a good chance of winning the group. Rock is not in the best spell of his career and, for example, failed to qualify for the Players Championship Finals. The Northern Irishman had a disappointing season on the floor and finished 81st in the Players Championship Order of Merit. He also recently lost his opening match at the World Grand Prix, while his European Championship campaign ended in the second round.

So, while Rock is the favourite on paper and Morris is certainly one to watch, Doets should have a strong chance of reaching the knockout stage. This is one of the few groups in which none of the three players would be considered a “surprise” group winner.

Finally, we turn to Maik Kuivenhoven’s group, as the Dutchman makes his Grand Slam of Darts debut. He qualified through the Tour Card Holder Qualifier, beating Ian White, David Sharp and fellow Dutchman Chris Landman. His reward is a tough group featuring Nathan Aspinall and Karel Sedlacek.

Aspinall is currently world number 11, but his results at the Grand Slam have been inconsistent in recent years. “The Asp” has appeared at the tournament six times, going out in the group stage twice, including last year, and losing in the second round twice. He reached the quarter-finals in 2020 and went all the way to the final in 2022.

Sedlacek made his Grand Slam debut last year. The Czech was drawn in a group with Luke Littler, Daryl Gurney and Connor Scutt. He suffered a heavy defeat to the world champion in his opening match, but then beat Gurney. However, he lost 5-3 to Scutt in the deciding match, finishing third in the group and exiting the tournament.

With the format changed to groups of three this year, it will be difficult for Kuivenhoven to reach the knockout stage from this tough group. Still, he is far from out of contention. His match against Sedlacek looks like a 50-50 contest, and if he wins it, one upset against Aspinall could be enough to see him through the group stage.

Given Kuivenhoven’s form this year, an upset is certainly possible. He has reached a floor-event semi-final and two finals this year. Unfortunately, he lost both finals. His strong results nevertheless earned him sixth place in the Pro Tour Order of Merit ahead of the World Darts Championship, securing a convincing qualification for the tournament at Alexandra Palace. Perhaps he can spring a surprise in Wolverhampton this year, too.

With seven Dutch players at the Grand Slam of Darts, there will be plenty of compatriots to follow over the coming week. There are also plenty of opportunities to reach the next round. Based on the draw, Gian van Veen and Jermaine Wattimena look best placed to reach the knockout stage, while Michael van Gerwen should also be able to progress from his group on reputation and ranking alone.

For Wessel Nijman, much will depend on his match against Niko Springer. Sevada looks beatable, making the clash with the German potentially decisive. Kevin Doets and Maik Kuivenhoven, meanwhile, will need a little luck and will hope to cause an upset against Josh Rock and Nathan Aspinall respectively.

Niels Zonneveld faces a huge challenge in a group with Luke Littler and Beau Greaves. But in the short group-stage format, he could yet emerge as a surprise winner. Group A, however, could literally go either way. If we at DartsNews.com had to predict how many Dutch players will feature in the knockout stage, we would say four. What do you think?