From Mark Webster to Cameron Menzies: even one win in the group stage can get you through at Grand Slam of Darts

Next Saturday the Grand Slam of Darts will kick off in Wolverhampton, traditionally one of the most important TV tournaments on the darts calendar. In the group stage, each darter plays three matches to try to qualify for the knockout stage. Usually two wins are enough to advance, but occasionally players manage to get through the group stage with just one win.

In 2024, it was Scot Cameron Menzies who won against Martin Schindler in the group stage and lost to Danny Noppert and Beau Greaves. Nevertheless, he managed to qualify for the knockout stage with this one win. In the last 16, he defeated James Wade 10-9 before finally losing to Mickey Mansell 16-15 in the quarter-finals.

In 2020, we saw two English darters with a similar fate: Adam Hunt and Ian White. Hunt played solidly, but found himself in a tough group Michael van Gerwen, Gabriel Clemens and Joe Cullen. Hunt eventually won only from Clemens, but still advanced to the knockout stage along with Van Gerwen, where he lost 10-6 to Simon Whitlock.

White, at that time a regular in the top-16, came through a group with Peter Wright, Devon Petersen and Dirk van Duijvenbode only successful against the latter. Still, that was enough to advance to the last 16 as runner-up in his group, in which he lost 10-4 to James Wade.

Also in 2018, a familiar face managed to win just one match: Mensur Suljovic of Austria. 'The Gentle' was known as one of the most consistent players at the time, but struggled to find his form. He stuck to one win in a pool with Stephen Bunting, Scott Mitchell and Martin Schindler, specifically against Mitchell. Suljovic was stranded in the semifinals that year after a 16-12 defeat to Gerwyn Price.

Previous editions also saw several players fail to get more than one win in the group stage. These included Josh Payne (2018), Steve Beaton (2015), Terry Jenkins (2015), Kim Huybrechts (2013), Colin Lloyd (2009) and Mark Webster (2008 and 2017).

What this list shows is that even the biggest names sometimes struggle with the unique format of the Grand Slam of Darts. The group stage forces players to be sharp right away - one bad day can mean the difference between glory and elimination. But even with one win you can still move on, as these darters proved.