2007 Grand Slam of Darts

2007 PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts
Tournament information
Dates	17–25 November 2007
Venue	Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Location	Wolverhampton
Country	England
Organisation(s)	PDC
Format	Legs
Prize fund	£300,000
Winner's share	£80,000
High checkout	170 James Wade
Champion(s)
Phil Taylor
2008»

The 2007 PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts was the inaugural staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts, held by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament invited the best performing players from the PDC and its rival the British Darts Organisation. There had been two previous head-to-head matches between the champions of the two organisations and a few tournaments have also featured BDO v PDC clashes. This tournament was the first of its kind to be held in the United Kingdom.

The 2007 tournament was staged at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England from 17–25 November 2007. Phil Taylor won the title, beating Andy Hamilton 18–11 in the final. In one of the early group matches which may not have stood out at the time, John Part narrowly beat Mark Webster 5–4 and less than two months later the two players became the World Champions of their respective organisations.

The 32 players were split into eight groups of four players with the top two from each group qualifying for the last 16 knockout stages. Each player was therefore guaranteed three matches in the competition. Two points were awarded for a win. All group games were best of 9 legs, the second-round games were extended to best of 19 legs, the semi-finals best of 25 legs, and the final best of 35 legs.

PartyPoker.net increased the prize fund for the event from the original announcement of £250,000 to £300,000 making it the second richest tournament in 2007 – ahead of both the Premier League and the BDO World Championship.^[1]

Controversy hit the tournament in May when it was confirmed by the BDO that the Winmau World Masters had been moved from its original dates of 26–28 October to a new date of 16–18 November,^[2] clashing directly with the Grand Slam. This meant that players from the BDO were forced into a direct choice between competing at the Masters for valuable ranking points or taking their place at the Grand Slam for better prize money. BDO World Champion Martin Adams almost immediately confirmed that he would participate in the Masters, though he was the only BDO player to do so.^[3] Adams went out in the quarter-finals of the World Masters meaning his pay cheque of £1,250 was significantly less than the £4,000 he would have received simply for turning up at the Grand Slam. Adams also declined the chance to compete in 2008, even though the two tournaments did not clash as the Masters was moved to December.

The PDC Chairman Barry Hearn announced on 21 February 2007 that all major tournament finalists for the past two years from both the BDO and PDC will be invited to the event. Also World Championship semi-finalists from the same period would receive an invite.

The tournaments used for the qualifying criteria were the two World Championships, the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and World Masters (2006 only), UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, Premier League, World Series of Darts, International Darts League and the World Darts Trophy with the field set at 32 players.

BDO players Gary Anderson, Mark Webster, Shaun Greatbatch, Niels de Ruiter, Phill Nixon and Scott Waites all accepted invites to the event leaving Martin Adams (the BDO World Champion) as the only player to have rejected the opportunity to play.^[4] He participated in the 2007 Winmau World Masters instead, losing at the quarter-final stage.

Tournament	Year	Position	Player		Qualifiers
PDC World Darts Championship	2006	Winner	Phil Taylor		Phil Taylor Peter Manley Wayne Jones Wayne Mardle Raymond van Barneveld Andy Hamilton Andy Jenkins James Wade Terry Jenkins John Part Barrie Bates Vincent van der Voort Adrian Lewis Roland Scholten
		Runner-up	Peter Manley
		Semi-finalists	Wayne Jones Wayne Mardle
	2007	Winner	Raymond van Barneveld
		Runner-up	Phil Taylor
		Semi-finalists	Andy Hamilton Andy Jenkins
World Matchplay	2006	Winner	Phil Taylor
		Runner-up	James Wade
	2007	Winner	James Wade
		Runner-up	Terry Jenkins
World Grand Prix	2006	Winner	Phil Taylor
		Runner-up	Terry Jenkins
	2007	Winner	James Wade
		Runner-up	Terry Jenkins
Las Vegas Desert Classic	2006	Winner	John Part
		Runner-up	Raymond van Barneveld
	2007	Winner	Raymond van Barneveld
		Runner-up	Terry Jenkins
UK Open	2006	Winner	Raymond van Barneveld
		Runner-up	Barrie Bates
	2007	Winner	Raymond van Barneveld
		Runner-up	Vincent van der Voort
World Series of Darts	2006	Winner	Phil Taylor
		Runner-up	Adrian Lewis
US Open	2007	Winner	Phil Taylor
		Runner-up	Raymond van Barneveld
Premier League Darts	2006	Winner	Phil Taylor
		Runner-up	Roland Scholten
	2007	Winner	Phil Taylor
		Runner-up	Terry Jenkins
Note: Players in italics had already qualified for the tournament.

Tournament	Year	Position	Player		Qualifiers
BDO World Darts Championship	2006	Winner	Jelle Klaasen		Jelle Klaasen Shaun Greatbatch Phill Nixon Mervyn King Niels de Ruiter Michael van Gerwen
		Runner-up	Raymond van Barneveld
		Semi-finalists	Martin Adams Shaun Greatbatch
	2007	Winner	Martin Adams
		Runner-up	Phill Nixon
		Semi-finalists	Mervyn King Niels de Ruiter
World Masters	2006	Winner	Michael van Gerwen
		Runner-up	Martin Adams
Note: Players in italics had already qualified for the tournament.

Tournament	Year	Position	Player		Qualifiers
International Darts League	2006	Winner	Raymond van Barneveld		Colin Lloyd Gary Anderson Mark Webster
		Runner-up	Colin Lloyd
	2007	Winner	Gary Anderson
		Runner-up	Mark Webster
World Darts Trophy	2006	Winner	Phil Taylor
		Runner-up	Martin Adams
	2007	Winner	Gary Anderson
		Runner-up	Phil Taylor
Note: Players in italics had already qualified for the tournament.

^[5]

Criteria	Player
Highest Ranked PDC Non-Qualifier	Dennis Priestley
Highest Ranked BDO Non-Qualifier	Scott Waites
Wildcard Qualifier	Chris Mason Kevin McDine
DPA Australia Open Winner	Pat Orreal
South African Open Winner	Charles Losper
North American Order Of Merit Leader	Gary Mawson
Late Entry Highest PDC Non-Qualifiers	Ronnie Baxter Kevin Painter

All matches race-to-5/best of 9.

NB in Brackets: Number = Seeds; BDO = BDO Darts player; RQ = Ranking qualifier; Q = Qualifier
NB: P = Played; W = Won; L = Lost; LF = Legs for; LA = Legs against; +/- = Plus/minus record, in relation to legs; Average = 3-dart average; Pts = Points

Group A [edit] POS Player P W L LF LA +/- Pts Status 1 Raymond van Barneveld (1) 3 3 0 15 8 +7 6 Advance to the last 16 2 Adrian Lewis 3 2 1 13 9 +4 4 3 Dennis Priestley (RQ) 3 1 2 11 14 −3 2 Eliminated 4 Chris Mason (Q) 3 0 3 7 15 −8 0 17 November 105.26 Raymond van Barneveld 5 – 3 Chris Mason 95.94 94.08 Adrian Lewis 5 – 4 Dennis Priestley 95.93 18 November 100.94 Raymond van Barneveld 5 – 3 Adrian Lewis 94.03 81.44 Chris Mason 4 – 5 Dennis Priestley 87.81 19 November 82.48 Chris Mason 0 – 5 Adrian Lewis 101.55 104.08 Raymond van Barneveld 5 – 2 Dennis Priestley 103.53

Group B [edit] POS Player P W L LF LA +/- Pts Status 1 Andy Hamilton 3 3 0 15 8 +7 6 Advance to the last 16 2 Terry Jenkins (8) 3 2 1 12 9 +3 4 3 Vincent van der Voort 3 1 2 10 11 −1 2 Eliminated 4 Charles Losper (Q) 3 0 3 6 15 −9 0 17 November 97.39 Vincent van der Voort 3 – 5 Andy Hamilton 100.94 94.34 Terry Jenkins 5 – 2 Charles Losper 85.75 18 November 93.24 Andy Hamilton 5 – 2 Terry Jenkins 86.28 96.85 Vincent van der Voort 5 – 1 Charles Losper 89.18 19 November 85.78 Andy Hamilton 5 – 3 Charles Losper 82.56 82.23 Vincent van der Voort 2 – 5 Terry Jenkins 90.06

Group C [edit] POS Player P W L LF LA +/- Pts Status 1 James Wade (4) 3 3 0 15 6 +9 6 Advance to the last 16 2 Pat Orreal (Q) 3 2 1 11 10 +1 4 3 Phill Nixon (BDO) 3 1 2 13 10 +3 2 Eliminated 4 Niels de Ruiter (BDO) 3 0 3 2 15 −13 0 17 November 91.82 James Wade 5 – 4 Phill Nixon 92.19 76.61 Niels de Ruiter 1 – 5 Pat Orreal 86.21 18 November 102.79 James Wade 5 – 1 Pat Orreal 90.35 81.68 Phill Nixon 5 – 0 Niels de Ruiter 75.69 19 November 97.42 James Wade 5 – 1 Niels de Ruiter 85.15 76.61 Phill Nixon 4 – 5 Pat Orreal 81.89

Group D [edit] POS Player P W L LF LA +/- Pts Status 1 Jelle Klaasen (5) 3 2 1 14 9 +5 4 Advance to the last 16 2 Kevin McDine (Q) 3 2 1 13 8 +5 4 3 Shaun Greatbatch (BDO) 3 1 2 7 11 −4 2 Eliminated 4 Peter Manley 3 1 2 8 14 −6 2 17 November 86.82 Jelle Klaasen 5 – 1 Shaun Greatbatch 86.07 87.83 Peter Manley 2 – 5 Kevin McDine 97.62 18 November 91.62 Jelle Klaasen 5 – 3 Kevin McDine 91.48 95.29 Shaun Greatbatch 5 – 1 Peter Manley 81.65 19 November 93.56 Jelle Klaasen 4 – 5 Peter Manley 92.71 97.47 Kevin McDine 5 – 1 Shaun Greatbatch 90.87

Group E [edit] POS Player P W L LF LA +/- Pts Status 1 Phil Taylor (2) 3 3 0 15 5 +10 6 Advance to the last 16 2 Colin Lloyd 3 2 1 11 9 +2 4 3 Wayne Mardle 3 1 2 8 12 −4 2 Eliminated 4 Ronnie Baxter (RQ) 3 0 3 7 15 −8 0 17 November 91.64 Phil Taylor 5 – 2 Wayne Mardle 87.45 99.37 Colin Lloyd 5 – 3 Ronnie Baxter 91.76 18 November 104.82 Phil Taylor 5 – 1 Colin Lloyd 91.45 85.68 Wayne Mardle 5 – 2 Ronnie Baxter 81.59 20 November 86.09 Ronnie Baxter 2 – 5 Phil Taylor 97.24 93.91 Colin Lloyd 5 – 1 Wayne Mardle 80.75

Group F [edit] POS Player P W L LF LA +/- Pts Status 1 John Part (7) 3 2 1 12 9 +3 4 Advance to the last 16 2 Gary Mawson (Q) 3 2 1 11 10 +1 4 3 Mark Webster (BDO) 3 1 2 10 11 −1 2 Eliminated 4 Andy Jenkins 3 1 2 8 11 −3 2 17 November 93.54 Mark Webster 1 – 5 Andy Jenkins 96.45 81.50 John Part 2 – 5 Gary Mawson 87.03 18 November 97.70 Mark Webster 4 – 5 John Part 94.89 85.23 Andy Jenkins 3 – 5 Gary Mawson 87.57 20 November 95.13 Andy Jenkins 0 – 5 John Part 95.13 85.76 Gary Mawson 1 – 5 Mark Webster 96.20

Group G [edit] POS Player P W L LF LA +/- Pts Status 1 Kevin Painter (RQ) 3 2 1 14 6 +8 4 Advance to the last 16 2 Gary Anderson (BDO, 3) 3 2 1 11 6 +5 4 3 Barrie Bates 3 1 2 5 11 −6 2 Eliminated 4 Wayne Jones 3 1 2 7 14 −7 2 17 November 93.54 Gary Anderson 1 – 5 Kevin Painter 96.45 86.50 Barrie Bates 5 – 1 Wayne Jones 80.82 18 November 87.38 Kevin Painter 5 – 0 Barrie Bates 83.14 94.86 Gary Anderson 5 – 1 Wayne Jones 86.41 20 November 91.79 Kevin Painter 4 – 5 Wayne Jones 101.48 86.78 Barrie Bates 0 – 5 Gary Anderson 107.36

Group H [edit] POS Player P W L LF LA +/- Pts Status 1 Roland Scholten 3 3 0 15 4 +11 6 Advance to the last 16 2 Mervyn King 3 2 1 13 10 +3 4 3 Michael van Gerwen 3 1 2 8 14 −6 2 Eliminated 4 Scott Waites (BDO, RQ, 6) 3 0 3 7 15 −8 0 17 November 88.07 Michael van Gerwen 5 – 4 Scott Waites 84.92 98.35 Roland Scholten 5 – 3 Mervyn King 102.05 18 November 87.83 Scott Waites 3 – 5 Mervyn King 95.31 97.62 Michael van Gerwen 1 – 5 Roland Scholten 110.21 20 November 104.38 Roland Scholten 5 – 0 Scott Waites 90.55 94.61 Mervyn King 5 – 2 Michael van Gerwen 90.42

Second round (best of 19 legs) 21–22 November

Quarter-finals (best of 19 legs) 23 November

Semi-finals (best of 25 legs) 24 November

Final (best of 35 legs) 25 November

A1

Raymond van Barneveld (1) 101.01

7

B2

Terry Jenkins (8) 102.14

10

B2

Terry Jenkins (8) 93.59

8

B1

Andy Hamilton 98.24

10

B1

Andy Hamilton 96.60

10

A2

Adrian Lewis 96.08

8

B1

Andy Hamilton 94.30

13

D2

Kevin McDine (Q) 94.73

12

C1

James Wade (4) 102.55

7

D2

Kevin McDine (Q) 105.79

10

D2

Kevin McDine (Q) 98.97

10

D1

Jelle Klaasen (5) 91.90

3

D1

Jelle Klaasen (5) 89.14

10

C2

Pat Orreal (Q) 85.47

9

B1

Andy Hamilton 100.97

11

E1

Phil Taylor (2) 101.75

18

E1

Phil Taylor (2) 103.17

10

F2

Gary Mawson (Q) 91.12

4

E1

Phil Taylor (2) 99.28

10

F1

John Part (7) 92.61

7

F1

John Part (7) 96.18

10

E2

Colin Lloyd 93.67

7

E1

Phil Taylor (2) 96.86

13

G2

Gary Anderson (BDO, 3) 99.11

11

G1

Kevin Painter (RQ) 97.27

10

H2

Mervyn King 92.57

7

G1

Kevin Painter (RQ) 91.74

7

G2

Gary Anderson (BDO, 3) 94.06

10

H1

Roland Scholten 95.70

7

G2

Gary Anderson (BDO, 3) 98.35

10

Player	Played	Legs Won	Legs Lost	100+	140+	180s	High checkout	3-dart average [6]
Raymond van Barneveld	4	22	18	47	32	14	120	102.82
Adrian Lewis	4	21	19	60	25	6	150	96.44
Dennis Priestley	3	11	14	42	11	7	88	95.76
Chris Mason	3	7	15	33	6	4	157	86.62
Andy Hamilton	7	59	54	127	76	33	145	95.61
Vincent van der Voort	3	10	11	22	20	3	96	92.16
Terry Jenkins	5	30	26	70	52	10	140	93.28
Charles Losper	3	6	15	25	14	1	68	85.83
James Wade	4	22	16	49	31	10	170	98.65
Phill Nixon	3	13	10	31	13	4	116	83.49
Pat Orreal	4	20	20	40	28	7	115	85.98
Niels de Ruiter	3	2	15	20	6	1	98	79.15
Jelle Klaasen	5	27	28	84	33	9	125	90.61
Kevin McDine	6	45	31	114	45	23	161	97.68
Shaun Greatbatch	3	7	11	25	14	3	164	90.74
Peter Manley	3	8	14	34	15	2	76	87.40
Phil Taylor	7	66	39	128	89	29	153	99.25
Wayne Mardle	3	8	12	26	7	3	65	86.57
Colin Lloyd	4	18	19	39	33	7	150	94.60
Ronnie Baxter	3	7	15	25	13	4	134	86.48
Gary Mawson	4	16	20	46	25	5	136	87.87
Andy Jenkins	3	8	11	25	15	2	141	90.84
John Part	5	29	26	66	28	9	126	92.06
Mark Webster	3	10	11	25	17	2	117	95.81
Kevin Painter	5	31	23	66	33	19	120	92.82
Gary Anderson	6	42	33	99	67	22	158	97.50
Barrie Bates	3	5	11	26	10	0	123	85.47
Wayne Jones	3	7	14	27	21	2	81	89.57
Roland Scholten	4	22	14	56	28	10	144	102.16
Mervyn King	4	20	20	57	30	8	78	96.14
Michael van Gerwen	3	8	14	25	19	6	76	92.04
Scott Waites	3	7	15	25	11	3	96	87.77

The tournament was televised by ITV. The first afternoon session on 17 November, the Sunday afternoon session on 18 November, the semi-finals, and the final were all broadcast live on ITV1. The rest of the tournament was shown live on ITV4. It was ITV's first televised darts tournament since they ceased coverage of the Winmau World Masters in 1988 – although they did show the first Clash of Champions match between Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld in 1999.^[7]

The ITV Sport team consisted of lead presenter Matt Smith, analysts Steve Beaton and Alan Warriner-Little, and commentators John Rawling from ITV Boxing, Stuart Pyke from Sky Sports and Nigel Pearson of talkSPORT.

• Announcement of tournament PlanetDarts.tv