New home for Grand Prix

The 2009 World Grand Prix will be held at the bigger capacity Citywest International Event & Convention Centre.

Bigger capacity for Dublin showdown

The World Grand Prix will have a new home in Dublin this year, the PDC has confirmed. October's event will be staged in the brand new Citywest International Event & Convention Centre - doubling the capacity for spectators. Dublin's Citywest Hotel has hosted the World Grand Prix since 2001, with the Sky Sports-televised event being played in the unique format where players need to both begin and end a leg with a double. Following the recent completion of the Citywest Hotel IECC, the 2009 Skybet World Grand Prix - to be held from October 5-11 - has now been moved into that arena, with the capacity doubling to accommodate more than 3,000 fans. "This is an exciting development for what is already one of the most popular tournaments in our calendar," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn. "Demand for tickets for the Skybet World Grand Prix has been exceptional in recent years and to be able to move into the Citywest Hotel IECC is a major boost for all Irish darts fans. "The Citywest Hotel deserve great credit for having the vision to develop the IECC and we're delighted that the Skybet World Grand Prix will raise the curtain for sporting events at the arena next month."

Field

The field for the tournament has now been confirmed, with Dublin's own Jacko Barry winning a place ahead of Northern Ireland's Ray Farrell in the final qualifying tournament in Austria on Sunday. While Northern Irish pair Brendan Dolan and John MaGowan had already secured places, Balbriggan's Mick McGowan was left hanging on to his spot and Barry's displays in Salzburg saw him move above Farrell on a count-back to take the final of four positions reserved for players from Ireland & Northern Ireland. The world's top 16 players, including reigning champion Phil Taylor and 2007 winner James Wade, qualify by right, alongside 12 leading performers in Players Championship events held this year. They include Scottish pair Gary Anderson and Robert Thornton, as well as World Championship quarter-finalist Paul Nicholson, who won the recent Australian Open. Derby's Jamie Caven and Holland's Michael van Gerwen will join Anderson and Nicholson in making their World Grand Prix debuts next month. Play in the Skybet World Grand Prix begins on Monday October 5 and Tuesday October 6 with the first round, and the second round will be played on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday's quarter-finals are then followed by the two semi-finals on Saturday evening and the final on Sunday October 11. 2009 Skybet World Grand Prix
Top 16 from PDC Order of Merit: Phil Taylor, James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld, John Part, Terry Jenkins, Ronnie Baxter, Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis, Colin Lloyd, Dennis Priestley, Alan Tabern, Colin Osborne, Mark Walsh, Wayne Mardle, Kevin Painter, Andy Hamilton. Players Championship Order of Merit (top 12 non-qualified players): Gary Anderson, Robert Thornton, Jamie Caven, Steve Beaton, Wayne Jones, Andy Smith, Vincent van der Voort, Mark Dudbridge, Michael van Gerwen, Paul Nicholson, Wes Newton, Denis Ovens Top four Irish/Northern Irish players from Players Championship Order of Merit: Brendan Dolan, John MaGowan, Mick McGowan, Jacko Barry Top eight seeds (for first round draw) 1. Phil Taylor
2. James Wade
3. Raymond van Barneveld
4. John Part
5. Terry Jenkins
6. Ronnie Baxter
7. Mervyn King
8. Adrian Lewis