Preview Saturday night Grand Slam of Darts: Van Gerwen-Greaves leads line-up also featuring Littler, Humphries and Anderson

Today marks the start of the Grand Slam of Darts 2025. The first four days of the tournament traditionally feature the group stage. On Saturday night there are a number of exciting matches, including Michael van Gerwen taking on Beau Greaves and former major winners Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith.

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.

After the tournament kicked off this afternoon with the first eight matches from groups B, D, F & H, tonight the first matches are scheduled in groups A, C, E and G. These group matches are in a best-of-9 legs format. In addition to the names already mentioned, the numbers one and two in the world - Luke Humphries and Luke Littler - will also be in action for the first time this tournament.

The evening kicks off with the duel between Daryl Gurney and Connor Scutt. Gurney knows better than anyone what it means to peak at the right time. The former Premier League Darts player has been on a quiet resurgence in recent months, driven by his success alongside Josh Rock at the World Cup of Darts. His scoring prowess is back, and if he can get a little sharper on the doubles he seems dangerous to all again.

Scutt, on the other hand, was having a particularly mediocre year, until he managed to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Championship. The 29-year-old Englishman is in Wolverhampton for the second year in a row and hopes to make it through the group stage this year. Gurney and Scott have met four times, with Gurney winning three times. Their last meeting was at the twelfth Players Championship this year, when Gurney won 6-4.

Next up is Martin Schindler and Luke Woodhouse. Schindler is on a steady rise in the PDC, winning titles on the Players Championship and the European Tour this year. In the world rankings, the 29-year-old German is now neatly in the top-16.

But Woodhouse is also having an excellent year. He recently reached the final at the last Players Championship tournament of the year, which he lost 8-5 to Wessel Nijman. Woody' has climbed to 25th place in the world rankings, his highest ranking ever. Both men have already met twice this year and the score is 1-1. It promises to be an exciting match between two players who don't wear each other out much.

What a match: Nathan Aspinall against Michael Smith, a duel that might as well be a final of a major. Two Englishmen, two spirited players, and two worlds of difference in style. Aspinall is the fighter, the man who lives on emotion and adrenaline. Smith, the 2023 world champion, in turn, is known for his fast and particularly smooth style.

However, both men have slipped a bit in the world rankings. Aspinall went straight out in the opening round of the World Matchplay this year and subsequently dropped out of the top-20. Yet 'The Asp' is not playing badly, he has already won three Euro Tours this year. Very different is the situation with Michael Smith. 'Bullyboy' was plagued by injury for a long time and is currently only 30th in the world rankings. Qualification for the Grand Slam of Darts was therefore a huge boost for the 35-year-old Englishman. Their last meeting was late last year, when Smith won 6-3 at the 29th Players Championship.

Gary Anderson loves the Grand Slam of Darts, but has never managed to win the tournament. 'The Flying Scotsman' reached the final in 2011 and 2018, but lost each time. At 54, Anderson remains someone to be reckoned with, although he often underperformed at the majors this year.

With Niko Springer he meets a great talent in his opening match. The 25-year-old German won his first PDC ranking tournament this year (Hungarian Darts Trophy) and confirms all the good things that have been said about him for some time. By the way, this is only the second time Anderson and Springer have faced each other, their only previous duel was won 6-3 by Anderson at Players Championship 9 this year.

Luke Humphries is still the world number one, although he is increasingly feeling the hot breath of Luke Littler on his neck. 'Cool Hand Luke' therefore needs a good performance to maintain his position. The 30-year-old Englishman - who managed to win the Grand Slam of Darts in 2023 - has already won two majors this year (Masters and Premier League Darts), but has been dry for some time since that last title. He will therefore be particularly motivated to add another majors title to his record.

Alex Spellman managed to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts via the CDC Tour. The American can play freely and without pressure in a very tough group with Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith. Humphries and Spellman competed against each other exactly once in the past. At the US Darts Masters 2023, Humphries won 6-3.

Next it is Luke Littler's turn to enter the arena. The defending champion will take on Karel Sedlacek in his first group match. Littler has already won four majors this year and is increasingly approaching Luke Humphries' number one position in the world rankings. Littler also starts this year's tournament as a top favorite and should in principle be little bothered by Sedlacek, although it always remains treacherous in such a short format.

Sedlacek managed to qualify through qualification and will make his debut at this year's Grand Slam of Darts. Both men only met once before, in the Polish Darts Masters 2025, Littler was too strong for the Czech 6-4.

The highlight of the evening after all, this clash between Michael van Gerwen and Beau Greaves. Mighty Mike has had a difficult year, plagued by personal problems. The 36-year-old Dutchman may have won the German Darts Grand Prix and the World Series of Darts Finals, but for someone of his stature, it was often too little. Van Gerwen has therefore set his sights on a strong performance at this tournament and then the World Darts Championship.

But Van Gerwen will not have an easy task in his opening match in Group G. With Beau Greaves he meets a player who has been a whirlwind on the Challenge Tour, Development Tour and Women's Series this year. Beau 'n' Arrow piled up the titles and also secured herself a PDC Tour Card for the next two years. Greaves and Van Gerwen have never played each other before.

The evening will conclude with the duel between Stephen Bunting and Alexis Toylo. Bunting has had a successful year with titles at the World Series of Darts, the Players Championship and the European Tour. Only on the majors was it a bit disappointing for the English crowd favorite. Can Bunting change that at the Grand Slam of Darts?

With Alexis Toylo he meets a player with little experience at this level. The Filipino already played at the World Darts Championship and the World Cup of Darts, but did not make much of an impression. On the PDC Asian Tour he showed he has a lot to offer. This will be the first meeting between Bunting and Toylo, with Bunting as the high favorite.