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Grand Slam of Darts 2023 | Day One Preview and Order of Play

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Grand Slam of Darts 2023 | Day Two Preview and Order of Play

Sensational Stowe Buntz stuns Peter Wright on Grand Slam of Darts debut

Jamie Shaw in Grand Slam of Darts 14 Dec 2023

Buntz celebrates a memorable win (Photo by Kieran Cleeves/PDC)

Stowe Buntz enjoyed a dream debut at the Grand Slam of Darts by thrashing Peter Wright 5-1 on the opening day in Wolverhampton.

American ace Buntz, who sealed qualification with victory in last month’s CDC Continental Cup, turned on the style in a colourful clash against European Champion Wright at the Aldersley Leisure Village on Saturday.

Buntz fired in a sensational tops-tops 137 checkout and took out 116 to race into a three-leg lead, before wrapping up a crushing victory with a 13-darter to seal two points at the first time of asking.

“I don’t know what to say,” admitted a shell-shocked Buntz, who averaged 102.28 – the highest average of the day – to defeat his darting idol.

“It is phenomenal – Peter’s a two-time World Champion. He is a big inspiration for me, hence the attire.

“To play against one of my idols, it’s like playing against Michael Jordan if you’re a basketball fan. I’m sure my phone is going to be blowing up after this!”

Day One of the £650,000 event saw a double session of action take place, as reigning champion Michael Smith kicked off the defence of his title with a 5-2 victory over Nathan Girvan in Group A.

Smith, who defeated Nathan Aspinall to lift the Eric Bristow Trophy last year, averaged 98 to topple Scottish debutant Girvan and celebrate a 17th consecutive group stage victory at the Grand Slam.

“I love this event – I owe a lot to the Grand Slam, and hopefully it keeps being kind to me,” said Smith, who is bidding to become the fourth player to retain the coveted title.

“I’m really happy to be back. It’s the first time I’ve had to defend a TV title so there were a few butterflies, but I’m happy with how I performed.

“My scoring was great and my finishing was there when I needed it. I’m aware of my record [in the group stage], but I’m only focused on trying to top the group.”

Three-time champions Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price also made winning starts in Wolverhampton, storming to 5-1 victories over Fallon Sherrock and Nathan Rafferty respectively.

Van Gerwen began his bid for a fourth Grand Slam crown with a 5-1 thumping of Sherrock in Group G, averaging 101.3 to sink the 2021 quarter-finalist – who landed three 180s in defeat.

Price was equally dominant in his six-leg blitz of Rafferty, running out an emphatic winner in an entertaining Group D contest which saw the pair trade 164 and 167 checkouts.

The Welshman now faces Ryan Searle in his second round-robin tie on Sunday, after the Somerset star produced an astonishing fightback from 4-0 down to stun debutant Gian van Veen, surviving six missed match darts in the process.

Elsewhere, World Matchplay champion Aspinall defied five 180s and a brace of ton-plus checkouts from a brilliant Beau Greaves to triumph in a deciding-leg thriller in Group H.

Women’s World Champion Greaves converted 101 and 124 finishes to seize the early initiative, but following a run of eight consecutive holds, Aspinall sank a nerveless 98 finish to deny the debutant.

“I have to give credit to Beau – she was the player in pot four that nobody wanted,” said Aspinall, last year’s Grand Slam runner-up.

“Beau completely outscored me in that match. She was fantastic; she’s a credit to the women’s game and a credit to darts as a whole.

“I’ve shown again what I am capable of. I wasn’t anywhere near my best, but I dug deep and whatever was thrown at me, I managed to find a way to win.”

In the other Group H tie, Damon Heta defeated Ricardo Pietreczko in similar fashion, producing a 150 skin-saver in the penultimate leg, before surviving a match dart from the German star in a dramatic decider.

Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson will collide in a blockbuster tussle on Sunday evening, after overcoming Steve Lennon and Dirk van Duijvenbode in their respective Group C ties.

World Grand Prix champion Humphries posted the first ton-plus average of the tournament in his 5-2 demolition of Lennon, with a 147 checkout in leg five the highlight of his victory.

Anderson, meanwhile, overcame a struggling Van Duijvenbode in a contest dominated by missed doubles, rallying from 4-2 down to triumph with finishes of 84, 74 and 76 in the latter stages.

Earlier in the day, Jonny Clayton recovered from a sluggish start to see off the returning Berry van Peer in his Group B opener, reeling off five straight legs to complete a convincing 5-2 success.

The Welshman’s reward is a showdown against 2022 World Youth Champion Josh Rock, who defeated Masters champion Chris Dobey by the same score-line, aided by 106 and 110 checkouts.

Danny Noppert and Andrew Gilding – the last two UK Open champions – will collide in Group F on Sunday, after kicking off their campaigns with hard-fought 5-3 wins against Haruki Muramatsu and Brendan Dolan respectively.

Noppert landed 86, 109 and 161 finishes to defeat PDC Asian Champion Muramatsu, while reigning UK Open champion Gilding fended off a late rally from Dolan to prevail on his Wolverhampton return.

Sunday’s double session will see Saturday’s winning players facing off and the losing players also meeting each other, as Smith continues his title challenge against Krzysztof Ratajski.

Ratajski edged out three-time runner-up James Wade in Saturday evening’s opener, beginning the match with 112 and 120 finishes before firing in a sublime 11-darter to prevail in a high-quality last leg.

Van Gerwen will face Rob Cross in his next Group G clash, after the 2018 World Champion recovered from 3-1 and 4-2 deficits to defeat Dutch debutant Martijn Kleermaker with a 96 average.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s headline act Buntz will meet Stephen Bunting – who denied Dave Chisnall in another nine-leg affair, pinning five of his seven double attempts to defy a 99 average from the 2014 runner-up.

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Grand Slam of Darts 2023 Day One Results

Saturday November 11

Group Stage

Afternoon Session
Damon Heta 5-4 Ricardo Pietreczko (H)
Andrew Gilding 5-3 Brendan Dolan (F)
Ryan Searle 5-4 Gian van Veen (D)
Chris Dobey 2-5 Josh Rock (B)
Danny Noppert 5-3 Haruki Muramatsu (F)
Nathan Aspinall 5-4 Beau Greaves (H)
Jonny Clayton 5-2 Berry van Peer (B)
Gerwyn Price 5-1 Nathan Rafferty (D)

Evening Session
James Wade 4-5 Krzysztof Ratajski (A)
Rob Cross 5-4 Martijn Kleermaker (G)
Dave Chisnall 4-5 Stephen Bunting (E)
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-5 Gary Anderson (C)
Luke Humphries 5-2 Steve Lennon (C)
Peter Wright 1-5 Stowe Buntz (E)
Michael van Gerwen 5-1 Fallon Sherrock (G)
Michael Smith 5-2 Nathan Girvan (A)

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Sensational Stowe Buntz stuns Peter Wright on Grand Slam of Darts debut

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