Grand Slam of Darts 2019 Semi-Finals preview and order of play: Final four face off in Wolverhampton

The 2019 Grand Slam of Darts draws to a gripping conclusion on Sunday as the final four battle it out for the £125,000 title in Wolverhampton.

Three of the four remaining hopefuls have already had a taste of reaching a Boylesports Grand Slam final, while the other is looking to surpass the Semi-Final stage of a PDC major for the first time.

Gerwyn Price is vying to become only the third player in the history of the tournament to successfully retain the title, but faces a brutal mission against his long-term nemesis Michael van Gerwen.

Price has put up a superb defence of his maiden major title so far this week, topping Group C with maximum points before thrashing Darren Webster 10-1 in the Last 16. 

The Welshman, now ranked inside the top six for the first time, thrashed Gary Anderson 16-9 on Saturday in a low-key repeat of last year’s controversial final to set up another show-down with the world number one.

Van Gerwen is out to move a step closer to a fourth Grand Slam title in his last five appearances having progressed to his fifth consecutive Semi-Final in Wolverhampton.

Van Gerwen dropped just six legs in topping Group A with maximum points before coming from behind to defeat Ian White 10-7 and then thrashing Adrian Lewis 16-6 with a 103 average in the Quarter-Finals.

The reigning World Champion has won five of his last six televised tournaments and his imperious head-to-head record against Price is no secret, having not lost to ‘The Ice Man’ in 19 matches, winning 18 and drawing one.

Their last five meetings have gone to a final leg, most recently in the World Series Finals – when the Dutchman came from 4-2 down to edge through 6-5.

The opening Semi-Final sees 2017 Grand Slam runner-up Peter Wright taking on a player entering uncharted territory in this cross-code major – Glen Durrant.

Durrant aims to reach his first PDC major final (Photo by Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Wright, who is defending his runner-up prize money on the rankings from two years ago, has reached his third Grand Slam Semi-Final since 2016 and his first major ranking Semi-Final since last year’s World Grand Prix.

The world number seven came through Group F in top spot with consecutive 5-2 wins over Wayne Warren, Ryan Harrington and Danny Noppert before thrashing a below-par Rob Cross 10-3 in the Last 16.

He then produced a 101 average to deny Dave Chisnall 16-12 in the Semi-Finals and looks to be thriving with a similar setup to the one which guided him to the 2014 World Championship final.

Wright faces ‘Duzza’ for the third time in this competition, with the pair having met twice in 2017, with the Scot avenging his defeat in the Group Stage with a 16-10 triumph in the Quarter-Finals.

Durrant’s dream debut season as a PDC Tour Card holder continues as he makes his third consecutive appearance in a major Semi-Final, looking to go one better at the third attempt.

Representing the BDO as reigning Lakeside Champion, Durrant has fully justified his inclusion in this year’s Grand Slam by pulling off a string of tenacious wins to remain in the running for glory.

After battling back from the brink to defeat Martin Schindler 5-4 in his crucial second group game, Durrant went on to whitewash Nathan Aspinall 5-0 to secure second spot and edge out Gabriel Clemens 10-9 in the Last 16 despite not leading at any stage of the match.

The Middlesbrough marksman then averaged 98 in a solid 16-12 win over Michael Smith to end a run of successive defeats to ‘Bully Boy’ in TV majors and is now out to follow in the footsteps of Scott Waites in 2010 by becoming only the second BDO representative to win the Grand Slam.

The action gets underway from 1pm GMT, with the Semi-Finals and the final to be contested over the best of 31 legs.

Sunday November 17

Semi-Finals

1.15pm Peter Wright v Glen Durrant

2.45pm Michael Van Gerwen v Gerwyn Price

7pm

Final