Price and Van Gerwen Joint-Favorites For Sky’s Grand of Slam Darts
Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen will face Fallon Sherrock and Lisa Ashton respectively on the opening day of the Sky Sports televised Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts. The 32-player tournament, which features a group stage round-robin format, will be staged at the Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton, between November 13-21.
Fallon Sherrock is set to play former World Champion Peter Wright on Saturday. ©PDC
Sherrock will make her Grand Slam debut against World Matchplay champion Wright on Saturday, November 13. Germany’s Gabriel Clemens and Belgium’s Mike De Decker are also drawn in Group E. Ashton, meanwhile, faces three-time Grand Slam champion Michael van Gerwen in her opening Group G match. The in-form Joe Cullen and World Cup winner John Henderson are also housed in this tough group.
The A, B C’s
World Champion Gerwyn Price has been drawn alongside Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, Germany’s Martin Schindler and Northern Irish qualifier Nathan Rafferty in Group A. Two players from each group proceed to the second phase of the competition – a traditional knock-out stage.
Jonny Clayton – who has won the Masters, Premier League, World Grand Prix and World Series of Darts Finals in 2021 – is the star of Group B. His opponents will be Mervyn King, 2020 World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks and 20-year-old Austrian Rusty-Jake Rodriguez.
UK Open champion James Wade and European Championship winner Rob Cross are joined by Croatia’s Boris Krcmar and Wales’ Jim Williams in Group C. Group D features Dimitri Van den Bergh, Stephen Bunting, Ryan Joyce and Rowby-John Rodriguez. The latter is Rusty-Jake’s older brother.
Barneveld is Back
One of the most popular players the sport has ever seen, 2012 Grand Slam of Darts champion Raymond van Barneveld, secured his return to the event by taking a Tour Card Holder Qualifier on Friday. The veteran Dutchman who is returning from retirement is joined by sixth seed Gary Anderson, Michael Smith and Joe Davis in Group H.
Van Barneveld will play in Wolverhampton for the first time since 2018, after defeating Alan Soutar, Danny Noppert and Brendan Dolan to book his place in the tournament. “I’m very emotional,” said Van Barneveld afterwards. “I’m a former winner of the Grand Slam and I’m really happy. It was such a special memory for me when I won the Grand Slam and I can’t wait to be a part of this tournament again.”
While Barneveld’s enthusiasm is infectious, bookmakers are not enthusiastic about the 2007 World Champion’s chances. BetVictor is offering an industry top-priced 5/1 about him winning Group H. ‘Barney’s’ chances of taking the Eric Bristow Trophy and a £125,000 top prize are rated a dismissive 100/1 with the best darts betting sites.
Can José Go Back-To-Back?
Heading the betting as 7/2 joint favorites are Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price. Jonny Clayton, seeking a fifth televised tournament victory this year, is considered third best at 6/1. Peter Wright follows at 10/1. First-round defeats in the World Grand Prix and European Championship have contributed to his seemingly generous odds.
Defending champion José de Sousa, seeded as number seven and housed in Group F alongside Luke Humphries, Mensur Suljovic and Canadian Matt Campbell, can be backed at 18/1 in the ante-post market.
Back-to-back winners are commonplace in this event. Since the competition’s inception in 2007, Phil Taylor defended his title three times. Michael van Gerwen retained his crown in both 2016 and 2017 while Gerwyn Price won the event in 2018 and 2019.
Krzysztof’s the Form Horse
From a recent form perspective, Krzysztof Ratajski is a player to side with. Poland’s number one has won 14 of his last 15 matches. This run of form saw him progress to the quarter-finals of a Players Championship tournament last Thursday.
Krzysztof Ratajski can defy odds of 28/1. ©PDC
The 44-year-old proceeded to win seven straight matches the following day to claim a Player’s Championship event. 24 hours later he won another three straight matches to book his place in this competition.
On Friday the world number 13 said: “In these last three days I’ve played really brilliant darts and felt really good. It’s a big thing for me.” The stats support Ratajski’s viewpoint. Earlier that day he had recorded a 107.77 average when beating defeat Simon Whitlock.
He also posted a 12-darter in a competition deciding leg against Jonny Clayton and once again averaged over 100 in his 7-3 semi-final win over Darius Labanauskas. Given those credentials, Ratajski could be considered an attractive each-way bet at 28/1. That price is on offer at Unibet and Boylesports – both firms that regularly sponsor major darts tournaments.
2021 Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts Schedule of Play
Saturday November 13
Afternoon Session:
- Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce
- Krzysztof Ratajski v Martin Schindler
- Mervyn King v Bradley Brooks
- James Wade v Jim Williams
- Rob Cross v Boris Krcmar
- Jonny Clayton v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
- Gerwyn Price v Nathan Rafferty
- Dimitri Van den Bergh v Rowby-John Rodriguez
Evening Session:
- Gabriel Clemens v Mike De Decker
- Jose de Sousa v Matt Campbell
- Luke Humphries v Mensur Suljovic
- Gary Anderson v Joe Davis
- Michael van Gerwen v Lisa Ashton
- Joe Cullen v John Henderson
- Peter Wright v Fallon Sherrock
- Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
