Preview Final Grand Slam of Darts 2024: Heavy favourite v underdog story as Luke Littler battles Martin Lukeman for title

The Grand Slam of Darts 2024 comes to a sensational denouement Sunday night when Martin Lukeman and Luke Littler will face each other in the final. Who will walk away with the £150,000 top prize and the Eric Bristow Trophy? Read our preview here.

It is the eighteenth time the Grand Slam of Darts has taken place. Phil Taylor is the record winner with six Grand Slam titles. Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price each won the event three times. Scott Waites, Raymond van Barneveld, Luke Humphries, Michael Smith and Jose de Sousa won the Eric Bristow Trophy once. In 2023, Humphries ran away with the title by beating Rob Cross 16-8 in the final.

Lukeman is also just one win away from his dream of a major title. 'Smash' convincingly won his group by defeating Peter Wright (5-0), Rob Cross (5-3) and Leonard Gates (5-3). The Englishman then triumphed 10-5 against Ross Smith, after which Cross again had to bow to his compatriot. Lukeman was trailing 1-5, but eventually pulled ahead 16-11. Also in his semifinal against Mickey Mansell, 'Smash' fell behind early in the match. Lukeman, who already referred to himself as a slow starter, lost the first three legs of the match. However, this deficit was more than made up and with a 16-12 victory he qualified for the final.

The 39-year-old darter has never before reached the final of a major tournament. He has reached the last eight twice before, at the World Grand Prix in 2022 and at this year's UK Open. The final spot is therefore already a milestone for Lukeman, who has therefore already secured his participation in the Grand Slam of Darts in 2025.

Lukeman began the tournament as No. 45 in the world, but has already climbed to 37th place. Should 'Smash' take the title, he will rise further to place 28 on the PDC Order of Merit. It would be another very surprising major winner, following previously Mike de Decker at the World Grand Prix and Ritchie Edhouse at the European Championship.

After first-round exits at the ranking majors World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and the European Darts Championships, 'The Nuke' had convincingly survived the first shuffle at the Grand Slam of Darts. The 17-year-old teenage sensation had a formidable start to his tournament in Wolverhampton on Saturday by beating Keane Barry 5-0 thanks to an average of 112. This was followed by a 5-1 victory over Dimitri van den Bergh with a moyenne of 106.98. In an attractive duel, he was then also too strong for Lourence Ilagan (5-3) with 102.05 average. Against Mike de Decker, however, Littler escaped elimination. The Belgian was the better player, leading both 8-4 and 9-7, but De Decker was skillfully played out of the match by a partisan crowd. Backed by a few whistlers from the audience, Littler came back and took the win 10-9.

In the quarterfinals, Littler came up with an absolute masterclass against Jermaine Wattimena. The Machine Gun' was completely wiped out and defeated 16-2 by an unleashed Littler. In the semi-final match against Gary Anderson, the skills of 'The Nuke' were again put to the test. Littler had his back against the wall after 22 legs, but the English prodigy turned a 9-13 deficit into a 16-15 victory.

For Littler, it will be his fourth major final of the season. After losing to Luke Humphries in the World Darts Championship final earlier this year, he did take the title in the Premier League Darts and at the World Series Finals in Amsterdam. Furthermore, Littler won two World Series titles, two Euro Tours and three Players Championship tournaments in 2024. So 'The Nuke' can clinch his tenth PDC title of the season Sunday night. Littler was eighteenth on the PDC Order of Merit at the start of the Grand Slam of Darts, but is already in tenth place. Upon winning the title, Littler rises further to the fifth position. 

Sky Sports will show the final in the UK with coverage starting at 7:30pm. As usual, the tournament begins with a group stage with eight pools of four players each. The group stage takes place from Saturday through Tuesday, with all players playing three times.

The top two players from each group will advance to the knockout phase. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 13, the knockout phase will begin with the first matches of the final sixteen. This round will be completed on Thursday, Nov. 14. The quarter-finals will be played on Friday, Nov. 15, and Saturday, Nov. 16, before the semifinals and finals are finished on Sunday, Nov. 17.

The event has been part of the PDC calendar since 2007. Back then, the prize pool already included £300,000, with £80,000 going to the winner. The prize pool was thrown up a few times in the following years, and in 2019 more than half a million prize money was distributed at the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time. Since the 2022 edition, the prize pool includes £650,000.

Every participant in the Grand Slam of Darts is guaranteed £5,000, which is the prize money you will be paid if you finish last in your pool. This amount can eventually go up to a sum of 150,000 pounds for the winner of the tournament. The players who win their pools in the group stage receive a bonus of 3,500 pounds. The Grand Slam has been a ranking tournament since 2015, so the prize money won counts toward the PDC Order of Merit.

Group stage: Best of 9 legs

Second round: Best of 19 legs

Quarterfinals: Best of 31 legs

Semifinals: Best of 31 legs

Final: Best of 31 legs

Mickey Mansell (92.28) 12-16 (99.66) Martin Lukeman

Luke Littler (103.81) 16-15 (100.17) Gary Anderson

Martin Lukeman v Luke Littler