All you need to know ahead of the World Grand Prix as reigning champion Luke Humphries and debutant Luke Littler will headline the opening night in Leicester.
Humphries celebrated his maiden TV ranking title with victory over Gerwyn Price in last year’s tournament, and the world No 1 will begin his title defence against Masters champion Stephen Bunting as he bids to join Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen in becoming the third player to retain the coveted crown.
Monday’s opening night will see eight first-round ties take place at the Mattioli Arena, as teenage sensation Littler makes his World Grand Prix debut against fourth seed Rob Cross.
Jonny Clayton, the 2021 champion, opens his challenge against newcomer Ritchie Edhouse, as 2022 runner-up Nathan Aspinall makes his big stage return against Ryan Searle.
Former finalists Raymond van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan will also feature on a star-studded evening, as they take on German duo Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler respectively.
Emerging Dutchman Gian van Veen faces Ross Smith in the evening’s finale, while Josh Rock and Ryan Joyce go head-to-head in the tournament’s curtain-raiser.
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Tuesday at the World Grand Prix
The first round will draw to a close on Tuesday evening, as six-time champion Van Gerwen continues his bid for a seventh double-start success against 2017 winner Daryl Gurney.
Michael Smith and Gary Anderson renew their rivalry in a repeat of their first-round showdown at the World Matchplay, while 2020 champion Gerwyn Price enters the fray against Dutch No 2 Danny Noppert.
Two-time World Grand Prix winner James Wade plays 2018 runner-up Peter Wright in another blockbuster battle, as Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen collide on the World Grand Prix stage for a second straight year.
UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh kicks off his campaign against Luke Woodhouse, with Van den Bergh’s fellow Belgian Mike De Decker pitted against Australian No 1 Damon Heta.
Two-time runner-up Dave Chisnall will open the show in Leicester on Tuesday, and the sixth seed faces a tough test against an in-form Cameron Menzies – one of five debutants in the 32-player field.
Last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final
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Following the conclusion of the first round, the last 16 will take place across Wednesday October 9 and Thursday October 10, before the quarter-finals are staged on Friday October 11.
However, in a change to last year’s format, Saturday’s semi-finals on October 12 will be contested over the best of nine sets, with the final set to be played over the best of 11 sets on Sunday October 13.
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Schedule of Play
2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix
Monday October 7 (1800 BST)
8x First Round matches
Josh Rock vs Ryan Joyce
Brendan Dolan vs Martin Schindler
Jonny Clayton vs Ritchie Edhouse
Nathan Aspinall vs Ryan Searle
Raymond van Barneveld vs Ricardo Pietreczko
Luke Humphries vs Stephen Bunting
Rob Cross vs Luke Littler
Gian van Veen vs Ross Smith
Tuesday October 8 (1800 BST)
8x First Round matches
Dave Chisnall vs Cameron Menzies
Luke Woodhouse vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
Mike De Decker vs Damon Heta
Peter Wright vs James Wade
Gerwyn Price vs Danny Noppert
Michael Smith vs Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen vs Daryl Gurney
Chris Dobey vs Joe Cullen
Wednesday October 9 (1900 BST)
4x Second Round matches – order of games TBC
Humphries/Bunting vs Van Barneveld/Pietreczko
Clayton/Edhouse vs Van Veen/R Smith
Cross/Littler vs Dolan/Schindler
Aspinall/Searle vs Rock/Joyce
Thursday October 10 (1900 BST)
4x Second Round matches – order of games TBC
M Smith/Anderson vs De Decker/Heta
Price/Noppert vs Wright/Wade
Van Gerwen/Gurney vs Dobey/Cullen
Chisnall/Menzies vs Woodhouse/Van den Bergh
Friday October 11 (1900 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Saturday October 12 (2030 BST)
Semi-Finals
Sunday October 13 (2000 BST)
Final
What live darts is on Sky Sports?
Live darts returns to Sky Sports with the BoyleSports World Grand Prix in Leicester from October 7-13, featuring some of the sport’s very biggest stars.
The annual £600,000 tournament will take place at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester from October 7-13, as 32 of the world’s top stars compete for the coveted title which was won by Luke Humphries.
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Then in November, the Grand Slam of Darts will be hosted in Wolverhampton as Luke Humphries looks to defend his title.
Attention then turns to the turn of the year and the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, beginning on December 15, as the darts calendar continues to provide excitement throughout the year – and you can enjoy the very best here live on Sky Sports.
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Source : Sky Sports
