Schedule Grand Slam of Darts 2024 on Saturday with Anderson-Van Veen and Wattimena-Littler

Mickey Mansell and Martin Lukeman qualified for the semifinals at the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts on Friday night. Saturday night the other two quarterfinals will be played.

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.

Jermaine Wattimena, who has been in great form in recent weeks, including a final at the European Darts Championship could be the cork in the bottle. The Machine Gun' won convincingly against Mike de Decker (5-2) and Michael Smith (5-1), before also beating Mensur Suljovic (5-4). In the second round, he endured a true thriller against Dimitri van den Bergh. 'The Dreammaker' wasted eight match darts before Wattimena won 10-9.

After first-round exits at the ranking majors World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and the European Darts Championships, 'The Nuke' has 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. Supported by some whistlers from the audience, Littler came back and took the win 10-9.

Wattimena and Littler already crossed faced off twice this year. Both matches were on the Euro Tour, but 'The Machine Gun' was well beaten. Littler won the matches 6-2 and 6-1.

Gian van Veen managed to impress the most in the group stage out of all the competitors at the Grand Slam of Darts. 'GVV The Giant' was perhaps thought to have the least chance of making it to the knockout stage prior to the event, but became group stage winner after victories over Josh Rock (5-2), Stephen Bunting (5-1) and Wessel Nijman (5-4). In doing so, the 22-year-old recorded averages of 110.39, 114.71 and 103.99 respectively. Combined, his average ended up at 108.89. This meant a considerable improvement on the group stage record of Phil Taylor (107.12). Van Veen continued his top form in the second round with a resounding victory over Ryan Joyce. 'GVV The Giant' triumphed 10-2 thanks to an average of 106.45.   

Anderson is competing in the Grand Slam of Darts for the seventeenth time and just as many times 'The Flying Scotsman' managed to get past the group stage. The Scot did so as group winner after victories over Ryan Joyce (5-1), Michael van Gerwen (5-4) and Noa-Lynn van Leuven (5-4). Especially in his opening game against Joyce, Anderson left a rock-solid impression with an average of 113.20. At the start of the knockout stage, Anderson faced Stephen Bunting and 'The Bullet' was defeated 10-6, putting Anderson in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts for the second consecutive year.

To reach the semifinals in Wolverhampton, Van Veen will have to do something he has never done before, which is win against Anderson. 'The Flying Scotsman' won the two previous duels against the Dutchman, although they only played against each other at Players Championship tournaments.

The four winners of the quarter-finals return to the stage Sunday afternoon for the semifinals of the Grand Slam of Darts. The final of this major tournament is on Sunday evening.

In the UK, it will be shown in full 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 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

Jermaine Wattimena v Luke Littler

Gary Anderson v Gian van Veen

(Best of 31 legs - first to 16 legs)