The schedule of play for the opening day of the 2021 Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts has been confirmed, with four former champions in action as the 32-player event begins in Wolverhampton.
The Grand Slam of Darts will see Jose de Sousa defending his title at the Aldersley Leisure Village from November 13-21, with £550,000 in prize money and the Eric Bristow Trophy on offer.
With the players split into eight groups of four for the first round stage, the round-robin action begins with a double session on Saturday November 13.
Groups A-D will be in action during the afternoon session, which is headlined by Gerwyn Price – the 2018 and 2019 winner at the Aldersley Leisure Village – meeting Northern Ireland’s Nathan Rafferty in their opening Group A tie.
Premier League and World Grand Prix champion Jonny Clayton plays Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in their Group B opener, after the Austrian topped the PDC Unicorn European Development Tour rankings to secure his qualification on Saturday.
UK Open champion James Wade, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, will meet Jim Williams in their Group C opener before European Championship winner Rob Cross meets Boris Krcmar.
Saturday afternoon’s action also sees former World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh and reigning World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks also in action.
The evening session sees Groups E-H commence their challenge for the title, with De Sousa up against Matt Campbell in Group F.
The night is headlined by clashes between Michael van Gerwen and Lisa Ashton and Peter Wright’s meeting with Fallon Sherrock as the two PDC Women’s Series qualifiers take on two superstars of the sport.
Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld also makes his Grand Slam of Darts return in Saturday’s final game, as he faces Michael Smith.
Sunday’s second group matches will see Saturday’s winning players face each other and the losing players also meet, before the final group matches are held on Monday and Tuesday.
The top two players from each group will progress to the knockout stage of the event, with the last 16 action beginning on Wednesday November 17 and running through to the semi-finals and final on Sunday November 21.
Tickets for the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts can be purchased through ticketmaster.co.uk.
2021 Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts
Schedule of Play
Saturday November 13
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
8x Group Matches
Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce (D)
Krzysztof Ratajski v Martin Schindler (A)
Mervyn King v Bradley Brooks (B)
James Wade v Jim Williams (C)
Rob Cross v Boris Krcmar (C)
Jonny Clayton v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (B)
Gerwyn Price v Nathan Rafferty (A)
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Rowby-John Rodriguez (D)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
8x Group Matches
Gabriel Clemens v Mike De Decker (E)
Jose de Sousa v Matt Campbell (F)
Luke Humphries v Mensur Suljovic (F)
Gary Anderson v Joe Davis (H)
Michael van Gerwen v Lisa Ashton (G)
Joe Cullen v John Henderson (G)
Peter Wright v Fallon Sherrock (E)
Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld (H)
Sunday November 14
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
8x Group Matches
Groups A-D Second Matches
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
8x Group Matches
Groups E-H Second Matches
Monday November 15 (1900 GMT)
8x Group Matches
Groups A-D Final Matches
Tuesday November 16 (1900 GMT)
8x Group Matches
Groups E-H Final Matches
Wednesday November 17 (1900 GMT)
4x Second Round
Thursday November 18 (1900 GMT)
4x Second Round
Friday November 19 (1900 GMT)
2x Quarter-Finals
Saturday November 20 (1900 GMT)
2x Quarter-Finals
Sunday November 21
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Final
