It’s that time of the year again when arguably the most exciting tournament of the darting calandar hits our screens as the two darting codes collide for what is sure to be an exciting tournament that has had a revamp for the 2015 version.
One of the most unique tournaments in either code has seen the tournament become one that counts towards the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit with both sides having seen a more positive dialogue between each other than ever before.
The criteria has seen a minimum of 8 qualifiers join from the BDO, four automatic and four that have come through two separate qualifiers.
Added into that we have seen 8 qualifiers from the PDC side that have come through a talented field to earn their place in the tournament alongside those that have already qualified.
The draw for the Grand Slam of Darts took place earlier in the week and saw 32 players drawn in 8 groups of 4 with two from each group set to make it through to the knock-out stages. The groups can be found below.
SINGHA BEER GRAND SLAM OF DARTS
GROUP A
(1) Michael van Gerwen
Kim Huybrechts
Steve West
Mark Oosterhuis
GROUP B
(8) Ian White
Jelle Klaasen
Steve Beaton
Martin Adams
GROUP C
(5) Adrian Lewis
Michael Smith
Wayne Jones
Andy Fordham
GROUP D
(4) Peter Wright
Dave Chisnall
Mervyn King
Scott Mitchell
GROUP E
(2) Gary Anderson
Raymond van Barneveld
Andy Boulton
Larry Butler
GROUP F
(7) James Wade
Keegan Brown
Mark Webster
Michel van der Horst
GROUP G
(6) Robert Thornton
Terry Jenkins
Jonny Clayton
Geert De Vos
GROUP H
(3) Phil Taylor
Rowby-John Rodriguez
Robbie Green
Martin Phillips
Here at The Sports Lowdown we take a look at a selection of the newcomers to the tournament, the outsiders and the contenders for the Grand Slam of Darts at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.