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.
| 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 | |||
| |||
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.
Format
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.
Prize money
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]
| Position (num. of players) | Prize money (Total: £300,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £80,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £35,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £15,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £10,000 |
| Last 16 (second round) | (8) | £6,000 |
| Last 32 (group stage) | (16) | £4,000 |
Controversy
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.
Qualifiers
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.
PDC
| 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. | |||||
BDO
| 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 | Shaun Greatbatch | ||||
| 2007 | Winner | | |||
| Runner-up | Phill Nixon | ||||
| Semi-finalists | Mervyn King Niels de Ruiter | ||||
| World Masters | 2006 | Winner | Michael van Gerwen | ||
| Runner-up | | ||||
| Note: Players in italics had already qualified for the tournament. | |||||
Defunct Tournaments
| 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 | | ||||
| 2007 | Winner | Gary Anderson | |||
| Runner-up | Phil Taylor | ||||
| Note: Players in italics had already qualified for the tournament. | |||||
Other qualifiers
| 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 |
Draws
Group stages
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
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
| 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 |
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
| 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 |
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
| 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 |
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
| 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 |
Knockout stages
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||
Statistics
| 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 |
Television coverage
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.
References
External links
- Announcement of tournament PlanetDarts.tv