Schedule World Grand Prix 2024: Smith-Anderson, Wright-Wade, Van Gerwen and Price in action on Tuesday night

Tuesday, 08 October 2024 at 08:00

Another eight matches will be played Tuesday in the first round of the World Grand Prix. Among others, Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert will start their tournament then, as well as the two Belgian participants in Leicester. Read our preview here.

This tournament is a unique event on the PDC calendar. The World Grand Prix is the only tournament where the legs are started and ended with a double. Because of this format, the World Grand Prix is known for its surprises, with often early eliminations of big names.

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Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies

Perhaps a non-obvious choice, but we expect a lot from this match. Two men who have been in good form since the summer. Perhaps also two similar types; often good at scoring, but sloppy on the doubles. Don't be surprised if in this match someone is going to win a leg while the other player has yet to open his.

Chisnall had a super month in September. Two titles, another final, two semifinals and two quarterfinals made the money flow in for 'Chizzy' last month. Menzies' resurgence began in early July with a semifinal on the Pro Tour. That was followed by another semifinal in August, after which he even reached the final of Players Championship 19. 'Cammy''s annual average has skyrocketed in recent months. The tally now stands at 96.47; only nine players on the PDC Tour have a better annual average than Menzies.

Over the years, Chisnall and Menzies played each other seven times. Five times Chisnall drew the longest, and twice Menzies won. The Scot did win the most recent showdown. At the end of August, Menzies won 6-1 over Chisnall, who has reached the World Grand Prix final twice in his career. For Menzies, it will be his debut at the double-in double-out tournament.

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Luke Woodhouse v Dimitri Van den Bergh

A duel between two players who are actually both not in great shape. A win might just be a tipping point for one of these two men.

For Dimitri van den Bergh, it will be his sixth consecutive participation in the World Grand Prix. Three times 'The Dreammaker' was eliminated in the first round, including in 2023. His best result was a quarterfinal place in 2022.

For Woodhouse, it will be only his second time competing in the World Grand Prix. As in 2022, 'The Shed' was the last player to qualify for the event. In his previous participation, Woodhouse made it to the last sixteen.

Mike De Decker v Damon Heta

Mike de Decker may also participate in the World Grand Prix for the second time. 'The Real Deal' comfortably qualified for this tournament after winning his first-ever PDC ranking title this year.

With Damon Heta, De Decker does not have an unfavorable draw. Heta is one of the best Pro Tour players at the PDC, but on 'The Heat' the Australian often performs disappointingly. Heta also has few pleasant memories of the World Grand Prix. In his previous three appearances, he lost in the first round each time.

What Heta can cling to, however, is that he has a good record against his upcoming Belgian opponent. He won three of the four previous matches against De Decker.

Peter Wright v James Wade

A big name is also going home in this match. Two-time world champion Peter Wright was paired in the draw with James Wade, who managed to win this tournament in 2007 and 2010.

Both Wright and Wade did not have a good first half of the season, but have begun to return to form in recent months. Wade underlined his good form with a semifinal finish at the World Matchplay and a spot in the last four at a Players Championship tournament. Wright made his presence felt by winning the German Darts Championship, one of the Euro Tour tournaments.

Wade and Wright have faced each other no less than 51 times in their careers. The balance is almost balanced. Wright won 26 times, while Wade emerged victorious 24 times. Once both men drew when that was still possible in the old format of Premier League Darts.

Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert

For the third time, Gerwyn Price and Danny Noppert face each other in the first round of the World Grand Prix. Both previous confrontations went to Price, who is also 11-5 ahead in the mutual balance.

It's time for Price to show something again at a ranking major. It has been three years since "The Iceman" won a major that counted toward the world rankings. Last year, Price did reach the final of the World Grand Prix for the third time, the tournament won by the Welshman in 2020.

Noppert was a semifinalist at the double-in double-out tournament in 2021, but that was also the only time in six participations that Noppert managed to get past the second round.

Michael Smith v Gary Anderson

We've seen this matchup before this year. Also at the World Matchplay, Gary Anderson and his former protégé Michael Smith faced each other. Anderson then started the match convincingly, leading 3-0, but then fell completely silent. Smith then pulled ahead 10-5.

The last time Anderson won from Smith was some time ago. In April 2022, 'The Flying Scotsman' last triumphed against 'Bullyboy,' who is now six duels unbeaten against his old teacher. In the mutual balance, Smith now leads 16-15 against Anderson.

In terms of form, however, Anderson is the big favorite to advance to the second round at the World Grand Prix. The two-time world champion is sprinkling in bizarrely high averages on the Pro Tour and has already been successful twice on the Players Championship circuit this year. Smith's highlight was winning the World Cup of Darts, while the Englishman also won a Players Championship tournament.

Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney

Six-time World Grand Prix champion Michael van Gerwen is back after missing several tournaments recently due to illness. 'MVG,' who won the Hungarian Darts Trophy in September, his first European Tour title in nearly 18 months, will be keen to reclaim his World Grand Prix crown. His opponent in the first round, Daryl Gurney, knows what it takes to win this tournament, as he won the title in 2017.

Gurney, who beat Simon Whitlock to win his Grand Prix title in Dublin, will provide stiff competition. However, Van Gerwen's record at this event, where he is second only to Phil Taylor in terms of titles, makes him the favorite for this showdown.

In the head-to-head, Van Gerwen has a clear lead over his Northern Irish opponent. 'Mighty Mike' won 27 times from Gurney, while 'Superchin' won 11 times from the Dutchman.

Chris Dobey v Joe Cullen

The final match of the first round is between Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen, two players who have both already been in the World Grand Prix semifinals once. Cullen did so last year, and Dobey on his debut in 2019.

In terms of form, Dobey is the big favorite in this English clash. 'Hollywood' is having a fantastic season on the Pro Tour and is the only player to have won three Players Championship tournaments in 2024. This season, Cullen was in two ranking finals, but those were also the only two tournaments that the Englishman managed to reach the quarter-finals at all.

Cullen does have a remarkably good record against his compatriot. Of the previous 12 duels between them, nine were won by Cullen. Last year they also met at the World Grand Prix. Then Cullen won in the quarter-finals 3-2 in sets.

TV Guide

In the Netherlands, the event will be broadcast by Sky Sports. On Oct. 7 and 8, broadcasts begin at 6 p.m.. The start times advance to 7 p.m. on Oct. 9, 10 and 11. On Saturday, Oct. 12, the semi-finals begin at 7:30 p.m. and the finals on Sunday, Oct. 13, start from 8:00 p.m.