Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Day Three preview and order of play | Groups A-D conclude

Groups A-D draw to a close on Day Three of the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton on Monday night.

The opening weekend of the prestigious ranked major produced record averages and a number of thrilling contests at the Aldersley Leisure Village.

Focus now turns to the third and finals set of fixtures from Groups A-D, with the top two from each group come the end of the evening going through to the knock-out phase.

Two players have already guaranteed their spot in the Last 16, leaving a further six places up for grabs.

Gerwyn Price, who has claimed the title in both previous visits to this venue, has already rubber-stamped his knock-out qualification but will look to clinch top spot in Group A by overcoming the eliminated Martin Schindler.

Price has lost just once at the Aldersley Leisuire Village, and the world number one followed up a narrow 5-4 win over Nathan Rafferty by whitewashing Krzysztof Ratajski on Sunday.

Schindler will be subjected to a third Group Stage exit in as many appearances at the Grand Slam but will look to end on a high and move off the foot of the table.

A straight shoot-out for a place in the knock-out stages sees World Matchplay semi-finalist Ratajski take on 21-year-old debutant Rafferty.

Both players have claimed two points apiece from as many matches, and top 16 star Ratajski will be out to utilise his vast experience in pressure situations to deny the Northern Irish youngster a famous result.

Group D plays host to another all-or-nothing clash between Stephen Bunting and Rowby-John Rodriguez.

Bunting, semi-finalist in the recent World Grand Prix, lost his opener despite a 106.7 average, but followed that up with a 5-3 win over Chris Dobey to move into second spot.

World Cup finalist Rodriguez defeated Dobey 5-3 on Day One before slipping to a 5-1 defeat to Joyce, and is looking to reach the knock-out phase for the first time in three attempts.

Joyce has proved one of the stand-out performers of the tournament so far, and back-to-back wins have seen him clinch a Last 16 spot for the first time, averaging 98 and 108 in his opening two matches.

He now aims to progress as group winner by defeating fellow North East star Dobey – who is playing for pride after successive defeats, having been drafted in as a late replacement for Dimitri van den Bergh.

It remains all to play for in Group B with all four players still in with a chance of reaching the knock-out phase.

Masters, Premier League and World Grand Prix champion Jonny Clayton leads the way with four points and would guarantee top spot and the £3,500 group winner’s bonus if he can overcoming Mervyn King.

King is eyeing revenge for his defeat to Clayton in this year’s Masters final and bounced back from a disappointing display against Bradley Brooks on Saturday by defeating Rusty-Jake Rodriguez with a 145 checkout in the deciding leg.

World Youth champion Brooks has the initiative over King with a superior legs difference of five and knows that a win over fellow young gun Rodriguez would guarantee him qualification for the Last 16 on his debut.

Rodriguez, who is yet to pick up a point, must defeat Brooks by a significant margin and hope that Clayton can do him a favour by beating King if he is to have any chance of gatecrashing second spot.

Group C also remains wide open, with European Champion Rob Cross leading the way on four points and within touching distance of sealing his qualification.

Cross can take matters into his own hands by beating three-time finalist James Wade to advance as group winner or could be safe before throwing a dart if Boris Krcmar beats Jim Williams.

A win for Wade would see him through, providing he can batter Williams’ result, with the former BDO world finalist looking to inflict a third consecutive defeat on Croatian debutant Krcmar – who needs a heavy win and a mathematical miracle.

The action gets under way from 7pm GMT, with matches to be contested over the best of nine legs.

Two points are awarded for a win. Any points ties in the final group tables are then decided by legs difference, followed by the head-to-head result between the players.

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Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Day Three Schedule of Play

Monday November 15

Groups A-D Final Matches

7.15pm Chris Dobey v Ryan Joyce (D)
7.45pm Gerwyn Price v Martin Schindler (A)
8.15pm Boris Krcmar v Jim Williams (C)
8.45pm James Wade v Rob Cross (C)
9.15pm Bradley Brooks v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (B)
9.45pm Jonny Clayton v Mervyn King (B)
10.15pm Krzysztof Ratajski v Nathan Rafferty (A)
10.45pm Stephen Bunting v Rowby-John Rodriguez (D)