Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Day Four preview and order of play | Groups E-H conclude

Groups E-H draw to a close on Day Four of the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton on Tuesday night.

The opening three days of the prestigious ranked major have 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 E-H, with the top two from each group come the end of the evening going through to the knock-out phase.

Michael Smith has already guaranteed his spot in the Last 16, leaving a further seven places up for grabs.

Smith leads the way in Group H following back-to-back wins and would secure top spot and the £3,500 group winner’s bonus should he overcome Joe Davis in his final fixture.

World Youth finalist Davis is playing for pride after suffering successive defeats on his Grand Slam debut, mustering just one leg so far amid an elbow injury which has significantly hampered his efforts.

The key clash in Group H sees former World Champions Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld contest a straight shoot-out for the right to join Smith in the knock-out phase.

Anderson, an ever-present in this event and a two-time runner-up, is looking to maintain his 100 per cent record of reaching the knock-out phase every year since 2007.

Van Barneveld, the 2012 champion who is competing in the Grand Slam for the first time since 2018, bounced back from a deciding leg defeat to Smith by whitewashing Davis, and appears to have a new lease of life after reversing his decision to retire from the sport.

Michael van Gerwen is firmly in control of Group G and would wrap up top spot with victory over John Henderson.

Three-time champion Van Gerwen set a new record Grand Slam average of 115.19 in his 5-2 win over Joe Cullen to follow up a whitewash of Lisa Ashton on Saturday.

The world number three has progressed from the group stage in each of his last ten Grand Slam appearances and has gone on to reach at least the Semi-Final stage in six of those outings.

Henderson’s 5-0 whitewash at the hands of Joe Cullen on Day One means he is at a significant disadvantage in terms of leg difference and must defeat Van Gerwen and hope for a five-leg swing in order to leapfrog Cullen into second spot.

Cullen is making only his second Grand Slam appearance and would clinch a Last 16 spot for the first time with a win over Ashton.

Four-time Women’s World Champion Ashton is yet to win a game in three consecutive group stage appearances at the Grand Slam and will be determined to break that unwanted record.

Three from four remain in with a chance of qualification from a fascinating Group E, which sees Gabriel Clemens lead the way going into the decisive set of fixtures.

German number one Clemens has registered back-to-back wins, thrashing Mike De Decker 5-1 before edging past world number two Peter Wright 5-4.

He now looks to rubber-stamp top spot at the expense of history-maker Fallon Sherrock – who is bidding to become the first female to reach the knock-out stages of this event.

Fallon Sherrock waves to the crowd (Photo by Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Sherrock bounced back from a 5-1 defeat to Wright on opening night by sensationally whitewashing De Decker with a record women’s televised average of 101.55 in the process.

The Nordic Masters runner-up is level on two points with Wright but is two legs adrift, meaning she must better the Scot’s result by three legs or more in order to go through.

Wright is out to avoid a second successive group stage exit by overcoming the eliminated De Decker but could already be assured of qualification prior to the match depending on the outcome of Sherrock vs Clemens.

It remains all to play for in Group F, with all four players still in with a chance of making the Last 16.

Defending champion Jose de Sousa occupies top spot with four points and would clinch the group winner’s bonus with victory over Luke Humphries.

De Sousa thrashed Matt Campbell 5-1 before edging past Mensur Suljovic in a deciding leg, and now faces the UK Open runner-up – who must better Suljovic’s result by two legs or more in order to progress.

Humphries is looking to continue his breakthrough year by making it to the knock-out stages of the Grand Slam for the first time at only the second attempt.

Suljovic, however, has the upper-hand going into the night and would go through providing he can better Humphries’ result or avoid a heavy defeat to Campbell.

Canadian newcomer Campbell is yet to pick up a point and has a legs difference of minus six, meaning he requires a heavy win over Suljovic, coupled with a big win for De Sousa over Humphries if he is to have any chance of gatecrashing the top two.

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 Four Schedule of Play

Tuesday November 16

Groups E-H Final Matches

7.15pm Michael Smith v Joe Davis (H)
7.45pm Joe Cullen v Lisa Ashton (G)
8.15pm Michael van Gerwen v John Henderson (G)
8.45pm Mensur Suljovic v Matt Campbell (F)
9.15pm Jose de Sousa v Luke Humphries (F)
9.45pm Peter Wright v Mike De Decker (E)
10.15pm Gabriel Clemens v Fallon Sherrock (E)
10.45pm Gary Anderson v Raymond van Barneveld (H)