The 2024 Grand Slam of Darts continues on Wednesday night with four last 16 games so check out Chris Hammer’s match-by-match predictions, best bets and a suggested acca.
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports
- Format: Second Round, best of 19 legs
Danny Noppert (1/3) v Mickey Mansell (9/4)
- Tournament Ave: 99.07 – 97.76
- Tournament 180s per leg: 0.43 – 0.18
- Tournament Checkout %: 50% – 61.11%
Mickey Mansell waited an extremely long time to qualify for his first Grand Slam of Darts at the age of 51 but having finally made it to Wolverhampton, he’s already upset the odds to reach the knockout stages.
The Northern Irishman played very well to overcome James Wade 5-3 in a match where both players averaged over 100 and then Rowby-John Rodriguez before being pummelled 5-1 by the already-eliminated Luke Humphries in a dead rubber.
The key to his two wins was ridiculously clinical finishing while his lowly 180 per leg ratio of 0.18 is very much in line with his usual standard on tour.
Danny Noppert won all three of his games with a superior tournament average that almost touches 100 thanks his prolific heavy scoring and deadly finishing of almost 50%.
There was no pressure on him in his final game against Martin Schindler but the way he defied the German’s 109 average by mercilessly pouncing on any mistake has to be admired.
He’s an ice cool customer and I’d expect him to come through this contest against a player who doesn’t have a track record of thriving in long formats on the major stage.
That said, if Mansell can continue to finish well, a shock result is probably more likely than him firing in more 180s than Noppert, who has a much higher seasonal 180 per leg rate of 0.30 and has also hit them for fun so far in this tournament at 0.50.
Verdict: 10-6
CLICK HERE to back Noppert (-3.5 legs) to win and hit the most 180s with Sky Bet
James Wade (4/5) v Cameron Menzies (10/11)
- Tournament Ave: 99.07 – 92.92
- Tournament 180s per leg: 0.32 – 0.45
- Tournament Checkout %: 33.33% – 31.25%
Cameron Menzies will have spent most of his shift on Tuesday wondering how on earth he’s still in the tournament after a rollercoaster night of emotions for him.
The Scotsman headed into his last group match with Beau Greaves as hot favourite to get the win he needed to seal his progression into the knockout stages but he slumped to a heavy 5-1 defeat that meant Martin Schindler only needed three legs to leapfrog him into the top two.
Menzies would have been crestfallen at 2-2 with Schindler averaging well over 110 only for the German to miss five darts at doubles over the next three legs to gift him a place in the last 16.
Although he was poor on Monday night, I’d expect him to play with a lot more freedom against James Wade and perform much closer – or in excess – of his usual standards given that this must feel this like a bit of a bonus.
That should be enough for him to hit most 180s given his maximum per leg rate is much higher in this tournament and also the season as a whole (0.33 v 0.23), but what about the only thing that really matters – the actual match result?
Wade has reached the knockout stages for the 16th time on his 17th appearance which really is a stunning achievement given how the short format is always labelled a lottery – as Luke Humphries now knows – and deemed more suited for explosive scorers. Only Gary Anderson has a better record with 17 qualifications out of 17.
Although neither he nor Anderson have managed to lift this trophy, Wade has reached the final three times, including in the 2020 edition, and in his other two appearances since then, he’s gone as far as the semi-finals.
More importantly, he played well during the group stage and over this longer format, his overall game and timing should see him come through.
Verdict: 10-7
CLICK HERE to back Wade to win and Menzies to hit most 180s with Sky Bet
Martin Lukeman (11/8) v Ross Smith (8/15)
- Tournament Ave: 92.78 – 89.63
- Tournament 180s per leg: 0.19 – 0.28
- Tournament Checkout %: 53.57% – 30.56%
Martin Lukeman is one of the surprise packages of this year’s Grand Slam after cruising through the group stages with maximum points and a very impressive legs difference of +9.
Lukeman, who attributed his upturn his fortunes to his new darts cabin, has now won seven matches on the trot when you include his four victories during the qualifying event which were all achieved with averages in excess of 100 so his confidence is running high right now.
What he lacks in firepower and 180 hitting he certainly makes up on the doubles and it’s no surprise that his checkout percentage is well over 50% in Wolverhampton considering he’s known to be one of the most clinical finishers on tour at over 43% for the season.
However, although his tournament average of 97.8 is higher than Ross Smith’s 89.6 his levels have dropped in the last two matches while Smith’s 5-0 drubbing of Connor Scutt saw him rediscover his range after a worrying dip in form.
He averaged over 97.6 and hit a couple of maximums so it’s definitely a step in the right direction after two matches in the 80s.
It could be naive to suddenly expect him to fire on all cylinders again just based on one result but even during this sticky patch he fires in 180s a lot more prolifically than Lukeman so I’m including him in my acca to hit more maximums on the handicap (-2.5) .
Verdict: 8-10
Ritchie Edhouse (11/10) v Rob Cross (4/6)
- Tournament Ave: 96.48 – 95.79
- Tournament 180s per leg: 0.40 – 0.29
- Tournament Checkout %: 37.5% – 59.09%
Ritchie Edhouse has transformed from a journeyman pro into a major-winning machine in the last month and he’s currently enjoying an eight-match winning streak on TV.
While signs of his improvement were visible before he upset odds of 250/1 to land the European Championship last month, we can’t suddenly pretend anyone saw this kind of ascent to darting stardom coming.
Edhouse averaged over 103 in two of his three games, including a 105 to swot aside Dave Chisnall and complete a clean sweep of wins with an extremely healthy legs difference of +10, so he’s clearly riding the crest of a wave in terms of confidence and performance.
There was one ropey display against Connor Scutt when both players averaged in the mid-80s but he still battled to a 5-2 win and he’ll fancy his chances against Rob Cross.
Voltage has never failed to get out of the group stages in all eight of his Grand Slam appearances and this year he overcame an early blip against Martin Lukeman to cruise through pretty comfortably in the end.
Cross isn’t playing at his very best levels but his tournament average is just less than Edhouse and while his scoring hasn’t been blistering, his finishing definitely has.
If this was best-of-9, then I’d be tempted to give Edhouse support but the longer format could well suit Cross if he builds on his group stage success to move through the gears we know he has.
Verdict: 7-10
Grand Slam of Darts: Results, table & knockout draw
GROUP STAGE
Group A
Results
- James Wade 3-5 Mickey Mansell
- Luke Humphries 3-5 Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Rowby-John Rodriguez 3-5 Mickey Mansell
- James Wade 5-3 Luke Humphries
- James Wade 5-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Luke Humphries 5-1 Mickey Mansell
Group B
Fixtures & Results
- Danny Noppert 5-2 Beau Greaves
- Martin Schindler 2-5 Cameron Menzies
- Danny Noppert 5-4 Cameron Menzies
- Martin Schindler 5-1 Beau Greaves
- Danny Noppert 5-2 Martin Schindler
- Cameron Menzies 1-5 Beau Greaves
Group C
Fixtures & Results
- Rob Cross 5-2 Leonard Gates
- Peter Wright 0-5 Martin Lukeman
- Peter Wright 4-5 Leonard Gates
- Rob Cross 3-5 Martin Lukeman
- Peter Wright 1-5 Rob Cross
- Leonard Gates 3-5 Martin Lukeman
Group D
Fixtures & Results
- Ross Smith 1-5 Ritchie Edhouse
- Dave Chisnall 0-5 Connor Scutt
- Dave Chisnall 2-5 Ross Smith
- Ritchie Edhouse 5-2 Connor Scutt
- Connor Scutt 0-5 Ross Smith
- Dave Chisnall 2-5 Ritchie Edhouse
Group E
Results
- Michael Smith 5-2 Mensur Suljovic
- Mike De Decker 2-5 Jermaine Wattimena
- Mike De Decker 5-2 Mensur Suljovic
- Michael Smith 1-5 Jermaine Wattimena
- Michael Smith 0-5 Mike De Decker
- Mensur Suljovic 4-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Group F
Results
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-1 Lawrence Ilagan
- Luke Littler 5-0 Keane Barry
- Keane Barry 5-3 Lawrence Ilagan
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 1-5 Luke Littler
- Keane Barry 1-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Lourence Ilagan 3-5 Luke Littler
Group G
Results
- Michael van Gerwen 5-0 Noa-Lynn van Leuven
- Gary Anderson 5-1 Ryan Joyce
- Ryan Joyce 5-3 Noa-Lynn van Leuven
- Michael van Gerwen 4-5 Gary Anderson
- Michael van Gerwen 4-5 Ryan Joyce
- Gary Anderson 5-2 Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Group H
Results
- Stephen Bunting 5-4 Wessel Nijman
- Josh Rock 2-5 Gian van Veen
- Josh Rock 5-3 Wessel Nijman
- Stephen Bunting 1-5 Gian van Veen
- Josh Rock 2-5 Stephen Bunting
- Wessel Nijman 4-5 Gian van Veen
Grand Slam of Darts: Knockout Stage
LAST 16 (Nov 13-14)
- James Wade v Cameron Menzies
- Danny Noppert v Mickey Mansell
- Martin Lukeman v Ross Smith
- Ritchie Edhouse v Rob Cross
- Jermaine Wattimena v Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Luke Littler v Mike de Decker
- Gary Anderson v Stephen Bunting
- Gian van Veen v Ryan Joyce
QUARTER-FINALS (Nov 15-16)
- W Grp A/RU Group B v W Grp B/RU Group A (QF 1)
- W Grp C/RU Group D v W Grp D/RU Group C (QF 2)
- W Grp E/RU Group F v W Grp F/RU Group E (QF 3)
- W Grp G/RU Group H v W Grp H/RU Group G (QF 4)
SEMI-FINALS (Nov 17)
- Winner QF 1 v Winner QF 2
- Winner QF 3 v Winner QF 4
FINAL (Nov 17)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
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