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Darts World Grand Prix

Darts World Grand Prix

Alex Moss |

Darts World Grand Prix: Past, Present & 2024 Outlook

Darts World Grand Prix

Where is the World Grand Prix darts? The World Grand Prix is held at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester

The World Grand Prix is one of the most exciting darts tournaments on the calendar, with 32 of the world’s best players competing over the double-start format. First held in 1998, the World Grand Prix is organized by the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) every October and is the only competition on the professional tour where players must start and finish each leg on a double.

The 2024 edition of the World Grand Prix will be the 27th staging of the tournament and will take place over seven days from October 7-13. World number one Luke Humphries is the defending champion, whilst there is added excitement for this year’s competition as the Premier League champion Luke Littler makes his debut.

What is the World Grand Prix of Darts?

The World Grand Prix darts tournament is the third longest-running major event on the PDC calendar. It has been held every year since 1998 and is considered one of the most difficult competitions to win. Phil Taylor won an unprecedented 11 World Grand Prix titles during his career, whilst Michael van Gerwen (six titles) and James Wade (two titles) are the only other players to have won this event more than once.

The World Grand Prix is the third ranking major event of the season. The UK Open and the World Matchplay are the first two majors held each year, with the World Grand Prix marking the start of a busy end of the year with the European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and PDC World Darts Championship all set to take place between October and January.

The format of the World Grand Prix

Darts World Grand Prix

Players must hit twice as many doubles to get their hands on the World Grand Prix trophy

The World Grand Prix is played under the unique double-start format where players must start each leg by hitting a double. A player will only start scoring points in a leg once they hit a double, with the points value of the double counting as the first scoring dart.

In the early years of the World Grand Prix, the tournament was played under various formats. The inaugural staging in 1998 was a straight knockout played over the set play format, but with each set contested over the best of three legs. In 1999, the tournament started off with a group stage, but each set was played over the more traditional best of five legs.

In 2000, the World Grand Prix reverted to being a straight knockout event with 24 players and eight seeds, who all received a bye through to the second round. The following year the field increased to 32 players and the eight seeds joined the rest of the players in the first round.

The number of sets a player must win has been altered several times over the years, with the PDC announcing in April 2024 that the 2024 tournament would see the semi-finals and final played over a longer format.

Here is a breakdown of the World Grand Prix’s format for 2024:-

  • Round 1 – best of three sets
  • Round 2 – best of five sets
  • Quarter-finals – best of five sets
  • Semi-finals – best of nine sets
  • Final – best of 11 sets

How do players qualify for the tournament?

The World Grand Prix follows a similar qualification structure to the World Matchplay and is considered one of the most difficult events to qualify for. The top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit and the next top 16 players on the PDC ProTour Order of Merit (on a specified cut-off date around late September) make up the 32 player line-up each year.

The top eight players from the main Order of Merit are seeded with their seeding positions based on where they sit in the rankings. The players ranked 9-16 on the main Order of Merit and the 16 ProTour qualifiers enter the tournament as the non-seeded players. It means there is a chance of players ranked 1-8 being drawn against players ranked 9-16 in the first round, which has led to some blockbuster opening round ties over the years.

The World Grand Prix darts 2024 lineup looks set to be one of the strongest yet, with the 2024 PDC world champion Luke Humphries joined by the likes of Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price. The list of provisional ProTour qualifiers includes former world champions Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld, plus the 2024 Premier League winner Luke Littler.

How much is the prize money?

Darts World Grand Prix

Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price bump fists ahead of contesting the 2023 World Grand Prix final

The prize money for the World Grand Prix has increased many times during its near 30-year history. The first edition of the World Grand Prix in 1998 had a prize fund of £38,000, including £9,000 for the winner. The total prize pot has risen several times since then, with the latest one coming in 2002 when the prize fund increased to £600,000, with £120,000 going to the champion.

All of the prize money from the World Grand Prix is added to the PDC Order of Merit – the official world rankings of the PDC. Luke Humphries won his first major title at last year’s World Grand Prix and moved up to a career high of world number four on the Order of Merit. He has since won the Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals, World Darts Championship and World Matchplay to become the world number one and with a lead of more than £500,000.

Below is the World Grand Prix darts prize money breakdown for 2024:-

Winner - £120,000
Runner-up - £60,000
Semi-finalists - £40,000
Quarter-finalists - £25,000
Round 2 (last 16) - £15,000
Round 1 (last 32) - £7,500

The tournament’s history

The World Grand Prix has a long and rich history in darts that dates to the late-1990s. The first staging of the tournament was held in 1998 and saw Phil Taylor beat Rod Harrington 13-8 to win the title.

Taylor would go on to win a record-setting 11 World Grand Prix titles over the next 15 years, with his last success coming in 2013. More history has been written in this prestigious competition with the World Grand Prix marking the first PDC major victories for several players including Alan Warriner-Little, Colin Lloyd, Michael van Gerwen, Daryl Gurney and Luke Humphries.

Where is the World Grand Prix of Darts held?

The World Grand Prix has been held in five different venues over the years with the Citywest Hotel, in Dublin the event’s home for 19 years from 2001 to 2019. Before moving to the Irish capital, the tournament’s first two editions in 1998 and 1999 were held at the Casino Rooms in Rochester, England. The World Grand Prix then moved to Ireland with the Crosbie Cedars Hotel, in Rosslare, hosting the 2000 tournament.

In 2020, the pandemic saw many of the major darts events held behind closed doors and away from their long-standing homes. The 2020 World Grand Prix took place without a crowd inside the Ricoh Arena, in Coventry, before moving to its current home at the Mattioli Arena, in Leicester the following year.

World Grand Prix of Darts winners

Darts World Grand Prix

Phil Taylor has won the World Grand Prix a record 11 times

Here is a list of World Grand Prix darts winners since its inaugural staging in 1998. Phil Taylor dominated the competition during his playing career, winning 11 of the first 16 editions, whilst James Wade and Michael van Gerwen are the only other multi-time champions. Luke Humphries became the 10th different winner with his success at the Mattioli Arena in 2023.

World Grand Prix roll of honor
1998 – Phil Taylor
1999 – Phil Taylor
2000 – Phil Taylor
2001 – Alan Warriner-Little
2002 – Phil Taylor
2003 – Phil Taylor
2004 – Colin Lloyd
2005 – Phil Taylor
2006 – Phil Taylor
2007 – James Wade
2008 – Phil Taylor
2009 – Phil Taylor
2010 – James Wade
2011 – Phil Taylor
2012 – Michael van Gerwen
2013 – Phil Taylor
2014 – Michael van Gerwen
2015 – Robert Thornton
2016 – Michael van Gerwen
2017 – Daryl Gurney
2018 – Michael van Gerwen
2019 – Michael van Gerwen
2020 – Gerwyn Price
2021 – Jonny Clayton
2022 – Michael van Gerwen
2023 – Luke Humphries

The History Maker

Darts World Grand Prix

Brendan Dolan was the first player to throw a nine-dart leg at the World Grand Prix in 2011

October 8, 2011 is a date that will forever be remembered in the darts record books. On that day, Brendan Dolan made history as the first player to throw a televised nine-dart leg in the double-start format.

Dolan’s historic feat happened during his semi-final victory against James Wade in the 2011 World Grand Prix, as he started the leg by hitting double 20, followed by six treble 20s, a treble 17 and a bullseye to complete the perfect leg. The Northern Irishman also adopted the nickname of ‘The History Maker’ after the tournament.

More history was made at the 2014 World Grand Prix when James Wade and Robert Thornton both threw nine-dart legs in their second-round clash. It was the first, and to date only, time that both players have thrown the perfect leg in a televised match.

Dolan, Wade and Thornton remain the only three players to have struck perfection at the World Grand Prix. The double-start format makes completing a nine-dart leg even more difficult as you have to start the leg on double 17, double 20 or the bullseye and hit the double with your first dart.

2023 winner Luke Humphries

Luke Humphries added his name to the list of PDC major winners after claiming victory at the World Grand Prix in October last year. ‘Cool Hand’ defeated the 2020 champion Gerwyn Price 5-2 in the final and wrapped up his maiden major title with a 138 checkout. The 2019 PDC world youth champion opened his major account after recording victories over Daryl Gurney, Luke Woodhouse, Peter Wright, Joe Cullen and Price in Leicester to pocket the £120,000 top prize.

Reflecting on the biggest victory of his career (at that point), Humphries said: “I’ve imagined this moment for my whole career. It’s very emotional. Regardless of anything else I’ve done in my career, that was the greatest game I’ve ever played in my life. I couldn’t have picked a better ending for my first major title. I think a lot of people wrote me off, they thought Gezzy would steamroll me, but I’ve got a bit of bottle about me, I have got the ability to play as well.”

Last year’s World Grand Prix triumph opened the floodgates for Humphries, who would go on to taste plenty more major success over the next 12 months. The Englishman captured the PDC World Darts Championship in January 2024, and with it became the new world number one.

Humphries returns to the scene of his first major success as the top seed for the 2024 World Grand Prix (October 7-13). He will be aiming to become only the third player to successfully defend the double-start title, with Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen the only men to have won the World Grand Prix in back-to-back years.

What’s in store for the darts World Grand Prix 2024?

The next edition of the World Grand Prix is almost upon us as 32 of the world’s best players get ready to battle it out over the double-start format. The 2024 World Grand Prix takes place from October 7-13 at the Mattioli Arena, in Leicester, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.

The 2024 Premier League champion Luke Littler will be amongst the debutants in the World Grand Prix in 2024. Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko, Ritchie Edhouse and Cameron Menzies are also on track to make their first appearances in the competition this year.

Get in touch with Darts Corner and let us know your predictions for this year’s World Grand Prix. You can tweet us your predicted winner on X (Twitter) or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

Keep up to date with all the action at this year’s World Grand Prix with updates in the ‘Darts News’ section of our blog.

Pictures: PDC

Alex Moss is a content creator for Darts Corner and the co-host of the Weekly Dartscast podcast. Alex co-founded the Weekly Dartscast in 2017 and has helped produce 350+ episodes of the podcast, with their list of previous guests on the show a who’s who in the world of darts.

Alex also writes content for the Darts Corner blog, including the weekly darts news round-ups and how-to guides.

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