The Grand Slam of Darts, with its group-stage format, is an incredibly demanding tournament for players, requiring them to maintain a consistently high level. This was something many top-ranked players experienced firsthand, as top-seeded players exited the group stage one after another.
Last year’s winner and world number one Luke Humphries was favored to win the entire tournament, but after losing his first two matches, it became clear that he wouldn’t even make it out of the group. Although he won his final match against Mickey Mansell, it wasn’t enough to advance.
Each of the eight groups consisted of four players, with the two highest-ranked players moving on to the knockout stage. Before the tournament, players were divided into four different seeding groups based on world rankings and earned points. In the highest-seeded group were Luke Humphries, Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Dave Chisnall, Stephen Bunting, Dimitri van den Bergh, and Danny Noppert. Of these eight players, only four made it out of the group stage.
It wasn’t just the favorite, Humphries, who struggled in the group stage and faced defeat. World number two Michael van Gerwen also had trouble and was under pressure in his final match against Ryan Joyce. However, he lost 5-4, and Van Gerwen, too, had to leave the tournament after the group stage.
It didn’t go much better for world number three Michael Smith. He also needed to win his final group-stage match against Mike De Dekker to advance. But in that match, Smith had no chance and fell 5-0, meaning he was also out of the tournament.
World number four Rob Cross did his job, and although he, too, was under pressure to win his final match against Peter Wright, he managed it and won 5-1. This means Cross is the highest-ranked player to make it out of the group stage.
Fifth-ranked Dave Chisnall’s Grand Slam journey also ended after the group stage, like Humphries, van Gerwen, and Smith. Chisnall could not find his form in this tournament and lost all three of his matches.
Of the total 32 players who started, 16 were seeded before the tournament, and of these, nine advanced to the knockout stage.
Notably, Gian van Veen set a group-stage average record in the Grand Slam of Darts with an average score of 109.70 over his three matches. Even more remarkably, Wessel Nijmen, who was in the same group as Gian van Veen, ranked second on that list with an average score of 107.67 over his three matches. But what stands out the most about Nijmen’s average is that, despite having the second-highest average in a Grand Slam group stage ever, he didn’t win a single match.
The results of the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts group stage
Group A
James Wade, 6 points
Mickey Mansell, 4 points
Luke Humphries, 2 points
Rowby-John Rodriguez, 2 points
Group B
Danny Noppert, 6 points
Cameron Menzies, 2 points
Martin Schindler, 2 points
Beau Graves, 2 points
Group C
Martin Lukeman, 6 points
Rob Cross, 4 points
Leonard Gates, 2 points
Peter Wright, 0 points
Group D
Ritchie Edhouse, 6 points
Ross Smith, 4 points
Connor Scutt, 2 points
Dave Chisnall, 0 points
Group E
Jermaine Wattimena, 6 points
Mike De Dekker, 4 points
Michael Smith, 2 points
Mensur Suljovic, 0 points
Group F
Luke Littler, 6 points
Dimitri van den Bergh, 4 points
Keane Barry, 2 points
Lourence Ilagan, 0 points
Group G
Gary Anderson, 6 points
Ryan Joyce, 4 points
Michael van Gerwen, 2 points
Noa-Lynn van Leuven, 0 points
Group H
Gian van Veen, 6 points
Stephen Bunting, 4 points
Josh Rock, 2 points
Wessel Nijmen, 0 points
Round of 16 in the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts
James Wade vs Cameron Menzies
Danny Noppert vs Mickey Mansell
Martin Lukeman vs Ross Smith
Ritchie Edhouse vs Rob Cross
Jermaine Wattimena vs Dimitri van den Bergh
Luke Littler vs Mike De Dekker
Gary Anderson vs Stephen Bunting
Gian van Veen vs Ryan Joyce
The knockout stage of the Grand Slam of Darts begins Wednesday, November 13, and runs through November 17.
