Schedule Grand Slam of Darts 2024: Tuesday night do-or-die for Van Gerwen with Anderson and Littler also in action

The first eight spots for the knockout phase of the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts have been distributed. Tuesday night the players in groups E-F-G-H may try to qualify for the last sixteen.

Little arithmetic needs to be done Tuesday night. The first four matches each feature a player who has already advanced to the second round. They meet a player for whom the curtain has just fallen. The excitement really gets going in the last four matches; these are all knockout matches. The winner goes through, the loser is out.

Jermaine Wattimena can secure group victory in Group E against Mensur Suljovic. 'The Machine Gun' started his tournament with a 5-2 win over Mike de Decker and then provided a stunt against Michael Smith (5-1). In winning four legs, Wattimena is the group winner anyway, while Suljovic still has a slim chance of finishing third. De Decker and Smith will decide among themselves who will advance to the next round together with Wattimena.

In Group F, teenage sensation Luke Littler is the proud leader. After early exits at the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and the European Darts Championship, Littler at least already knows that he will now make it to the second round. The 17-year-old teenage sensation won easily over Keane Barry (5-0) and Dimitri van den Bergh (5-1) and only needs to win two more legs against Lourence Ilagan to become group winner. Van den Bergh still has everything in his own hands to reach the last sixteen. A win over Barry in his last group match is enough.

For Michael van Gerwen, it will be make or break Tuesday night in his match against Ryan Joyce. Van Gerwen started his tournament with a 5-0 victory over Ryan Joyce, but lost his second match against Gary Anderson 5-4. Joyce went down in his first match against Anderson (5-1), but did pick up the points against Van Leuven (5-3). The winner of the duel between Van Gerwen and Joyce will thus advance a round, while Anderson can secure first place in Group G with a win over Van Leuven.

Gian van Veen has the best chance in Group H, dubbed beforehand as the pool of death at the Grand Slam of Darts. 'GVV The Giant' already won from Josh Rock (5-2) and Stephen Bunting (5-1), making Van Veen already sure of a spot in the second round. The group win would be the icing on the cake for Van Veen, who needs three legs for this task in his last match against Wessel Nijman. The latter can no longer reach the knockout stage, but still has a chance at the third spot. Bunting and Rock are fighting a direct battle for a spot in the Last 16.

The tournament is shown in full in the UK on Sky Sports. 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 group. 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.

Gary Anderson v Noa-Lynn van Leuven (G)

Jermaine Wattimena v Mensur Suljovic (E)

Luke Littler v Lourence Ilagan (F)

Gian van Veen v Wessel Nijman (H)

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Keane Barry (F)

Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Joyce (G)

Michael Smith v Mike De Decker (E)

Stephen Bunting v Josh Rock (H)