2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix preview “The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix gets underway on Monday, as the unique double-start event returns to Leicester’s Mattioli Arena.”
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2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix preview
“The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix gets underway on Monday, as the unique double-start event returns to Leicester’s Mattioli Arena.”
The 27th staging of the World Grand Prix will see reigning champion Luke Humphries headlining a star-studded 32-player field, which also includes six-time champion Michael van Gerwen.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler will also make his double-start debut in the £600,000 event, which will take place from October 7-13.
Humphries will return to the scene of his maiden televised ranking triumph in the East Midlands, having defeated Gerwyn Price in a memorable final 12 months ago.
The 29-year-old has since enjoyed a sustained spell of dominance – lifting five televised titles, including the World Darts Championship and World Matchplay – to underline his status as the sport’s premier player.
The world number one will begin his title defence on Monday’s opening night with a blockbuster clash against Masters champion Stephen Bunting, a two-time World Grand Prix semi-finalist.
“I would love to retain this title,” declared Humphries, who defeated Bunting 8-7 to win his first Players Championship title of 2024 on Thursday.
Premier League champion Littler will also feature on a star-studded opening night, as he takes on fourth seed Rob Cross in another fascinating encounter.
Littler has taken the darting world by storm over the last ten months, claiming nine titles in 2024 alone – three more than any other player in this year’s field.
Cross, meanwhile, has not progressed beyond the second round in seven previous World Grand Prix appearances, although he has enjoyed an impressive season to date, picking up a brace of titles.
Monday’s play will also see 2021 champion Jonny Clayton kick off his title bid against debutant Ritchie Edhouse, who landed an astonishing 120.24 average on the ProTour earlier this week.
Clayton has not featured in a TV ranking quarter-final since his run to the World Matchplay final in July 2023, although the Welshman has enjoyed a return to form over recent months, winning a Players Championship event in July.
2022 runner-up Nathan Aspinall will also be in opening night action against Ryan Searle, as former finalists Raymond van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan face German duo Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler.
Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock will play the returning Ryan Joyce in the tournament’s curtain-raiser, before Dutch debutant Gian van Veen takes on world number ten Ross Smith in the evening’s finale.
Van Gerwen will open his challenge for a seventh World Grand Prix success against 2017 champion Daryl Gurney on Tuesday night, as the first round action draws to a close.
World number two Michael Smith and two-time World Champion Gary Anderson also go head-to-head for a place in round two, and 2020 champion Price plays Dutch number two Danny Noppert.
Two-time champion James Wade plays 2018 runner-up Peter Wright in a battle of the veterans, while Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen collide in a repeat of their quarter-final tussle back in 2023.
Dobey has scooped a hat-trick of Players Championship titles in 2024 to close in on a place in the world’s top ten, and he’s confident of transferring that form to the big stage in Leicester.
Elsewhere, two-time finalist Dave Chisnall opens Tuesday’s proceedings against newcomer Cameron Menzies, UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh meets Luke Woodhouse, and Australian number one Damon Heta takes on Mike De Decker.
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.
2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix
Draw Bracket
(1) Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Raymond van Barneveld v Ricardo Pietreczko
(8) Jonny Clayton v Ritchie Edhouse
Gian van Veen v Ross Smith
(4) Rob Cross v Luke Littler
Brendan Dolan v Martin Schindler
(5) Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Searle
Josh Rock v Ryan Joyce
(2) Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Mike De Decker v Damon Heta
(7) Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
Peter Wright v James Wade
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
Chris Dobey v Joe Cullen
(6) Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies
Luke Woodhouse v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Schedule of Play
Monday October 7 (1800 BST)
8x First Round matches
Josh Rock v Ryan Joyce
Brendan Dolan v Martin Schindler
Jonny Clayton v Ritchie Edhouse
Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Searle
Raymond van Barneveld v Ricardo Pietreczko
Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Rob Cross v Luke Littler
Gian van Veen v Ross Smith
Tuesday October 8 (1800 BST)
8x First Round matches
Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies
Luke Woodhouse v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Mike De Decker v Damon Heta
Peter Wright v James Wade
Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
Michael
