Preview Monday night Grand Slam of Darts: Humphries-Aspinall, Price, Wade and Michael Smith headline

The 2025 Grand Slam of Darts takes place in Wolverhampton this week. The first four days of the tournament traditionally see the completion of the group stage. Last weekend the first two group matches were finished, Monday night the decision in pools A, B, C and D will be made.

The Grand Slam of Darts is not similar to the other majors, for example, a group stage takes place first. In total, there are eight groups of four players, where after three matches played, the top two players from the group advance to the knockout stage. Luke Littler starts the tournament as the defending champion, after winning 16-3 over Martin Lukeman in last year's final. We will see who will qualify for the 'group of death' with Luke Humphries, Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall.

The evening in Wolverhampton will be kicked off with the duel between James Wade and Ricky Evans. For Wade, nothing more is at stake. After defeats against Stefan Bellmont and Gerwyn Price, qualification chances are gone for the 42-year-old Englishman.

Evans, on the other hand, is already sure of a place in the eighth finals after two consecutive wins. 'Rapid' can therefore play freely and, given his current form, that could provide fireworks. Wade and Evans last met in the summer of last year, when Wade prevailed 6-5 at the 15th Players Championship.

The stakes are also low in this match. Chris Dobey is already sure of a place in the eighth finals with two wins from two matches. Martin Lukeman, on the other hand - after all, last year's finalist - is already eliminated after zero out of two.

Dobey and Lukeman played each other three times before. Their last meeting was earlier this year at Players Championship 5, when Lukeman managed to win 6-4.

Stephen Bunting has already won tournaments at the World Series of Darts, the Players Championship and the European Tour this year. Only on the majors it did not really flourish for 'The Bullet'. He had his sights set on a strong performance at the Grand Slam of Darts, but after two consecutive defeats Bunting cannot qualify for the next round.

So his final group match against Luke Woodhouse is only for honor. How different it is for Woodhouse, who after two consecutive wins is already sure of qualifying for the knockout phase. 'Woody' is having a very stable year anyway and actually confirms all the good things we have seen from him in recent months. Bunting and Woodhouse already played each other twice this year, each time the victory went to Bunting.

Next up is Martin Schindler and Alexis Toylo, who will decide in a straight duel who will advance to the next round along with Luke Woodhouse. Schindler lost his opening duel to Woodhouse, but then won to Bunting, keeping his chances cool.

Toylo, on the other hand, opened with a win against Bunting and then lost to Woodhouse. The Filipino takes a particularly long time between his throws, so it remains to be seen how Schindler will deal with that. In principle, the German has enough experience and is also the better player, but it will probably not be easy. By the way, it is only the first time that both men play each other.

Damon Heta and Jurjen van der Velde battle it out in a straight duel to see who advances to the next round along with Chris Dobey. Heta won his first match, but lost his second match without a chance. For Van der Velde, the situation was reversed, he lost his first match without a chance and then triumphed against Martin Lukeman.

Incidentally, Heta and Van der Velde have never played against each other before. The 38-year-old Australian may have the most experience, but he often has more trouble performing strongly in the majors than in floor tournaments. It remains to be seen whether Van der Velde can cause a surprise here by advancing to the knockout phase as a non-Tour Card holder.

Next it was the turn of Gerwyn Price and Stefan Bellmont, who battled it out in a straight duel to see who would advance to the knockout stage along with Ricky Evans. Price recovered handsomely against Wade after surprisingly losing his opening match to Evans. The 40-year-old Welshman is having a good year anyway, including several titles at the Players Championship. Only that major title is still missing for "The Iceman," who has already won this tournament three times.

Bellmont makes his debut at the Grand Slam of Darts this year and after a win in his opening match against Wade, he went down particularly narrowly 5-4 against Evans. So it remains to be seen how the relatively inexperienced Swiss will handle the stress of a deciding match. Price and Bellmont played each other once before, at the fourth Players Championship this year Bellmont won 6-4

In the penultimate match, Michael Smith takes on Alex Spellman. Both players still have a chance to qualify for the next round, although a lot has to happen for Spellman for that to become a reality. In any case, the American needs a big win to have any chance at all.

Smith, on the other hand, will need a win anyway, if Humphries wins from Aspinall. Otherwise it is a matter of calculation and Smith could also benefit from a big win. Both men have never played each other before, but given his status Smith starts this match as clear favorite.

This match promises fireworks: Luke Humphries against Nathan Aspinall is a match you could also encounter in a final. Humphries, the current number one in the world, exudes calmness and confidence. At this Grand Slam of Darts, he won his first two matches, yet he is not quite sure of qualifying for the next round. With a win against Aspinall, he is a group winner anyway.

For Aspinall, on the other hand, the situation is a lot more complicated. A win against Humphries would significantly improve his chances, but even then it's watching what Michael Smith does against Alex Spellman. Their last two matches between them were won each time by Humphries, will Aspinall manage to break that negative trend?