Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Day One | Evening Session preview and order of play

Groups E-H get under way in the second part of an unmissable double session on Day One of the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts.

The field for this year’s event is comprised of PDC tournament winners and finalists from the last 12 months, as well as various Order of Merit winners and Tour Card holder, Development Tour and Challenge Tour qualifiers.

The players are initially split into eight groups, with the top two players from each group following the round-robin phase progressing to the knock-out stages.

Jose de Sousa begins the defence of his title with a clash against Canadian star Matt Campbell in Group F.

De Sousa became the sixth different winner of this prestigious title when he defeated James Wade in last year’s final behind closed doors in Coventry in his debut appearance.

The Portuguese sensation has since finished runner-up in the Premier League, as well as claiming three Players Championship titles this season.

Campbell is making his Grand Slam debut after topping the European Challenge Tour Order of Merit, rubber-stamping a place in the World Championship and a two-year Tour Card in the process.

A competitive Group F also sees UK Open finalist Luke Humphries take on World Cup runner-up Mensur Suljovic.

Humphries is now within touching distance of a place in the world’s top 16 after a stunning breakthrough year and is looking to reach the knock-out phase here for the first time following a Group Stage exit on debut 12 months ago.

Suljovic has returned to form following a brief sabbatical from the sport earlier this year, reaching the Quarter-Finals of the recent European Championship, and was a semi-finalist in his most recent Grand Slam appearance three years ago.

Group H, touted by many as ‘The Group of Death’ sees former Premier League stars Michael Smith and Raymond van Barneveld collide in one of the pick of the night’s fixtures.

World number ten Smith, semi-finalist in 2015, qualified courtesy of his two Players Championship triumphs this season and looks to be hitting form at just the right time.

Van Barneveld, meanwhile, secured his return to this event for the first time since 2018 after coming through last week’s Tour Card Holder qualifier, and will be determined to replicate the form which led him to Grand Slam glory in 2012.

The five-time World Champion sensationally claimed a ProTour title in February and is making his first televised tournament appearance since the UK Open the following month.

Elsewhere in Group H, two-time World Champion Gary Anderson starts out against 2020 PDC World Youth finalist Joe Davis.

Gary Anderson reacts (Photo by Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Anderson is a two-time Grand Slam finalist and an ever-present in the event since the inaugural staging back in 2007.

Davis, meanwhile, is poised for his first taste of a PDC major outside of the UK Open, having lost out to Bradley Brooks in last year’s World Youth final.

The 24-year-old has been suffering from tennis elbow, meaning he has been unable to throw a dart for the last five weeks, and may be reliant on adrenaline to see him through this formidable group.

All eyes will be on history-maker Fallon Sherrock as she marks her Grand Slam debut with a box office clash against world number two Peter Wright.

Sherrock secured her first appearance in this event by finishing top of the Women’s Series Order of Merit, sealing a return to Ally Pally in the process.

The 27-year-old reached the final of the recent Nordic Masters World Series event, only to be denied by Michael van Gerwen in the final, and will fancy her chances of upsetting an out of sorts ‘Snakebite’ over this short format.

Wright has been far below his best of late, suffering successive First Round exits at the World Grand Prix and European Championship, as well as a flurry of early departures in the Super Series.

The reigning World Matchplay champion, however, will be determined to put things right in Wolverhampton this week – where he has finished runner-up in 2017 and 2019.

Group E begins with a tie between German number one Gabriel Clemens and Belgian debutant Mike de Decker.

Both players came through the Tour Card Holder qualifier, with Clemens having reached the final of Players Championship 25 last month and De Decker now the sole Belgian representative in this event following the late withdrawal of Dimitri van den Bergh due to a positive Covid test.

Michael van Gerwen aims to kick-start his pursuit of a fourth Grand Slam title by overcoming four-time women’s World Champion Lisa Ashton in their Group G opener.

Van Gerwen ended his wait for a first ranking title of the year by winning Players Championship 29 last week and will be hungry for more glory at this crucial stage of the campaign.

Van Gerwen made his Grand Slam debut as a fresh-faced youngster back in 2007 and has three titles, two Semi-Finals and a Quarter-Final to his name in his six most recent appearances.

Ashton, meanwhile, is making her third consecutive appearance in the event, having finished second on the Women’s Series Order of Merit.

The 51-year-old is coming to the end of her first two-year stint as a PDC Tour Card Holder and has enjoyed some impressive results along the way, but will now be targeting her biggest scalp to date.

Group G also sees two-time European Tour event winner Joe Cullen up against World Cup winner John Henderson.

Cullen enjoyed a superb run to the Semi-Finals of the European Championship last month and ended the ProTour campaign by reaching the final of Players Championship 30.

Henderson was instrumental during Scotland’s charge to World Cup glory and is rewarded with a first Grand Slam outing since 2010, when he was selected as an ITV wildcard.

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

WATCH THE GRAND SLAM OF DARTS STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)

Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Day One Schedule of Play

Saturday November 13

Evening Session

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