The Grand Slam of Darts gets underway live on Sky Sports Arena from 1pm on Saturday, November 10.
Wednesday 7 November 2018 11:44, UK
Michael van Gerwen will begin his bid for a fourth successive Grand Slam of Darts crown against Jonny Clayton, Joe Murnan and Gary Robson, after the draw for the cross-code tournament was made on Tuesday afternoon.
The Grand Slam of Darts brings together players from both the PDC and BDO systems to compete across nine days in Wolverhampton, live on Sky Sports.
'The Green Machine' is looking to maintain his impressive unbeaten record at this event dating back to 2014, and the world No 1 and top seed heads up Group A.
Van Gerwen will begin his title defence against 51-year-old BDO veteran Gary Robson on Saturday evening, and the Dutchman will also face Austrian Darts Open winner Jonny Clayton and qualifier Joe Murnan in the round-robin phase.
Number two seed Peter Wright has been drawn in Group E against former World Youth champion Max Hopp, 2017 World Youth finalist Josh Payne and BDO debutant Jim Williams, who reached the quarter-finals at Lakeside back in January.
World champion Rob Cross will face Lakeside finalist Mark McGeeney in Saturday's afternoon session, whilst reigning World Youth champion Dimitri van den Bergh and debutant Ryan Searle also make up Group H.
Two-time world champion Gary Anderson will begin his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title against BDO World Trophy finalist Michael Unterbuchner in the penultimate match of Saturday's opening night.
'The Flying Scotsman' has already secured UK Open, World Matchplay and Champions League of Darts titles this year, and will also come up against Ian White and Steve Hine - who is making his Wolverhampton bow.
James Wade is bidding to win a third consecutive televised title and 'The Machine' heads up Group C, which features former World Youth champion Keegan Brown, three-time quarter-finalist Mark Webster and Dutchman Wesley Harms.
Mensur Suljovic headlines a competitive Group G, which features in-form German star Martin Schindler and former Lakeside champions Stephen Bunting and Scott Mitchell, with Suljovic and Mitchell set to collide on Saturday afternoon.
Seventh seed Simon Whitlock will kick off his campaign against reigning Lakeside champion Glen Durrant in the highlight of Saturday's afternoon session, and Group F also contains Premier League star Gerwyn Price and 2015 UK Open semi-finalist Andrew Gilding.
However, eighth seed Michael Smith heads up arguably the toughest quartet, alongside 2012 Grand Slam champion Raymond van Barneveld.
2012 champion Van Barneveld will face in-form Polish star Krzysztof Ratajski in his opener, whilst Premier League Finalist Smith meets World Masters winner Adam Smith-Neale in the other Group B tie.
The opening group matches will be held on Saturday, November 10, with play across two sessions at the Aldersley Leisure Village.
Sunday, November 11 sees the second round of group games, with Saturday's winning players facing each other and the losing players also colliding.
The final group games will then be held on Monday and Tuesday, with the top two players from each group then progressing to the knockout stage from the last 16 onwards.
2018 Grand Slam of Darts
Schedule of Play
Saturday November 10
Afternoon Session (1pm)
Groups E-H First Matches
Max Hopp v Josh Payne (E)
Gerwyn Price v Andrew Gilding (F)
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Ryan Searle (H)
Stephen Bunting v Martin Schindler (G)
Simon Whitlock v Glen Durrant (F)
Mensur Suljovic v Scott Mitchell (G)
Rob Cross v Mark McGeeney (H)
Peter Wright v Jim Williams (E)
Evening Session (7pm)
Groups A-D First Matches
Keegan Brown v Mark Webster (C)
Jonny Clayton v Joe Murnan (A)
Ian White v Steve Hine (D)
Michael Smith v Adam Smith-Neale (B)
James Wade v Wesley Harms (C)
Raymond van Barneveld v Krzysztof Ratajski (B)
Gary Anderson v Michael Unterbuchner (D)
Michael van Gerwen v Gary Robson (A)
Sunday November 11
Afternoon Session (1pm)
Groups E-H Second Matches
Saturday's winners face each other, and Saturday's losers face each other.
Evening Session (7pm)
Groups A-D Second Matches
Saturday's winners face each other, and Saturday's losers face each other.
Monday November 12 (7pm)
Groups E-H Final Matches
Tuesday November 13 (7pm)
Groups A-D Final Matches
Wednesday November 14 (7pm)
Second Round x4
Thursday November 15 (7pm)
Second Round x4
Friday November 16 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals x2
Saturday November 17 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals x2
Sunday November 18
Afternoon Session (1pm)
Semi-Finals
Evening Session (7.30pm)
Final
Darts season is in full swing and continues on Sky Sports with the Grand Slam of Darts which gets underway with a double session on Saturday, November 10 and continues through to the final on Sunday, November 18
The World Championships are just around the corner and get underway from the iconic Alexandra Palace on December 13.
