Last Friday, the qualifying tournament for the upcoming Grand Slam of Darts was completed in Leicester. Three-time winner Gerwyn Price failed to qualify for this PDC major, but another former winner enjoyed success.
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Price, who managed to win the Grand Slam of Darts in 2018, 2019 and 2021, had to pass the qualifying tournament to qualify for this edition. The 39-year-old Welshman had recently indicated he would not do so, but surprisingly showed up in Leicester on Friday anyway. After wins against Jurjen van der Velde and Robert Owen, he needed a win against Mickey Mansell to qualify. However, the Northern Irishman proved too strong 5-3 and so Price is out of the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time since 2015. For Mansell, who also won against Raymond van Barneveld on the road, it will be his debut at the Grand Slam of Darts.
In addition to Price, Jonny Clayton, Nathan Aspinall and Damon Heta failed to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts.
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Wade
Who did manage to qualify is James Wade. 'The Machine,' a three-time losing finalist at the Grand Slam of Darts in the past, defeated successively Simon Whitlock, Florian Hempel and Michele Turetta to secure his ticket to Wolverhampton.
Along the Dutch side, Danny Noppert managed to qualify, he was too strong for Danny van Trijp in his deciding match 5-1.
Biggest impression
Who perhaps impressed most at the qualifying tournament was Martin Lukeman. The Englishman beat Jeffrey de Zwaan 5-0 in his deciding match, posting an average of 107.36. In his other three matches he also averaged 100+ each time.
Cameron Menzies is also there at the Grand Slam of Darts. The boyfriend of Fallon Sherrock won't be joined by The Queen of the Palace as he sets his own trail. He won his first PDC ranking title last week, was too strong for Matthew Dennant in his deciding match, 5-2.
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In addition to the aforementioned players, Keane Barry, Ryan Joyce and Ross Smith may also prepare for a trip to Wolverhampton.
The Grand Slam of Darts kicks off next Saturday at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, with the final to be played on Sunday, Nov. 17. Luke Humphries starts the tournament as defending champion after winning 16-8 over Rob Cross in last year's final. The draw will take place later today.
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- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
