Live Darts on Wednesday | Grand Slam of Darts 2025 Day Five Preview and Order of Play
The knockout phase of the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts gets under way in Wolverhampton on Wednesday, with three former champions among a star-studded line-up.
A fascinating first four days of the prestigious ranking major saw 32 become 16 following the completion of the round-robin phase.
Four of the top eight seeds have already crashed out of the competition, while seven players have progressed to the knockout stages for the first time.
Matches from the top half of the draw take centre stage on Wednesday night, with the format increasing significantly from best of nine to best of 19.
Luke Humphries continues his quest for a second Grand Slam title with a clash against debutant Jurjen van der Velde.
Humphries, the 2023 champion, is bidding to defend his title-winning prize money from that campaign and hold down the world number one spot going into the Players Championship Finals.
Humphries atoned for last year’s shock group stage exit by storming to top spot in Group A with maximum points, landing a magnificent nine-darter along the way.
The 2024 World Champion has lost in the two most recent major ranking finals and is vying to become only the fourth multiple winner of this event since 2007.
Van der Velde has already broken new ground by reaching the Last 16 of a televised ranking tournament for the first time after finishing second in Group B.
The 22-year-old, who suffered a heart-breaking defeat to Gian van Veen in last year’s World Youth Championship final, defeated Martin Lukeman and Damon Heta in the group but now faces a monumental task over the extended format if he is to continue his landmark run.
Meanwhile, three-time Grand Slam champion Gerwyn Price faces a showdown with German number one Martin Schindler.
Price, whose three titles here came between 2018 and 2021, has continued his perfect record of reaching the knockout stages at the Aldersley Leisure Village.
A four-time Players Championship event winner this year, Price recovered from a shock opening day defeat to Ricky Evans by whitewashing James Wade and thrashing Stefan Bellmont 5-1 to finish top of Group D.
Schindler has made it sixth time lucky at the Grand Slam after finishing second in Group C to book his place in the Last 16 for the first time.
The three-time European Tour event winner saw off Stephen Bunting and Alexis Toylo in his final two group fixtures and is now eyeing a first major ranking quarter-final appearance since the 2023 World Grand Prix.
Michael Smith, the 2022 Grand Slam champion, takes on his close friend Chris Dobey in another unmissable tie.
Smith has enjoyed a welcome resurgence in recent weeks after a nightmare year which has seen him miss out on the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and European Championship.
Returning to the scene of his first major title three years ago, ‘Bully Boy’ continued the momentum from coming through the Tour Card holder qualifier by defeating Nathan Aspinall and Alex Spellman to secure second spot in Group A.
Smith has dropped to 30th in the Order of Merit following an injury-hampered season, but has the chance to make it successive major quarter-finals after reaching the same stage of the UK Open back in March.
Dobey coasted to the top of Group B for the combined loss of just three legs – fewer than any other player – thrashing Van der Velde, Heta and Lukeman by 5-1 scorelines.
The former Masters champion is now targeting a place in the quarter-finals of this event for the first time since his debut appearance back in 2016.
The opening match of the evening sees two players entering uncharted territory go head-to-head as Luke Woodhouse meets Ricky Evans.
Woodhouse has been one of the stand-out performers of the week so far, romping to the top of Group C courtesy of three consecutive wins.
Runner-up in both a European Tour event and Players Championship this season, Woodhouse is now eyeing only a third major ranking quarter-final appearance.
Evans, who also came through the Tour Card holder qualifier, has enjoyed a fine return to the Grand Slam for the first time since 2020.
Victories over Price and Bellmont saw ‘Rapid Ricky’ finish runner-up in Group D in what is his first appearance in a TV major since March’s UK Open.
The action gets under way from 7pm GMT, with second round ties to be contested over the best of 19 legs.
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Grand Slam of Darts 2025 Day Five Schedule of Play
Wednesday November 12
Second Round
7pm-11pm
Luke Woodhouse v Ricky Evans
Gerwyn Price v Martin Schindler
Luke Humphries v Jurjen van der Velde
Chris Dobey v Michael Smith
