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We rumble into some high-profile darts action this week with the latest edition of the World Grand Prix. This year’s tournament, which is the 26th hosting of the famous tournament, runs from October 2nd – 8th at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
There is a little twist on the World Grand Prix Darts action because it is a Double in, Double out format. That adds to the tension as a missed start of a leg can cause some momentum swings.
The reigning World Grand Prix Darts champion is Michael van Gerwen. He beat Nathan Aspinall in the 2022 Final 5-3 and the Dutchman is back among the front-runners to land this season’s title.
Here we look forward to the 2023 World Grand Prix Darts and also provide daily darts predictions across the tournament.
2023 World Grand Prix Darts
Contents
This is one of the great darts tournaments because it’s a fairly long test of endurance. Players have to win Sets, and the number of required sets for victory goes up as the tournament progresses.
The draw for the 2023 World Grand Prix darts consists of the Top 16 PDC Order of Merit players, plus sixteen from the ProTour Order of Merit at the cut-off date of September 25th, 2023.
Seeding is in place for the draw, with the top eight players from the PDC being seeded, meaning that they avoid other top-eight players in the first round.
2023 World Grand Prix Darts Seeds
- Michael Smith
- Michael van Gerwen
- Peter Wright
- Gerwyn Price
- Nathan Aspinall
- Luke Humphries
- Jonny Clayton
- Rob Cross
The winner collects £120,000 for going all the way, out of the overall prize pot of £600,000.
World Grand Prix Darts Reigning champion
Michael van Gerwen is the reigning champion thanks to a 5-3 win over Nathan Aspinall last year. That was his sixth title at the event, and third in the last five editions. So Mighty Mike is an obvious key player in the field here.
After losing the Final of both the World Darts Championship and UK Open, Van Gerwen has been back in the winner’s circle this year. He claimed the Premier League title (his seventh) and followed up with his fifth success at the World Series of Darts Finals.
Only the legendary Phil Taylor, with eleven World Grand Prix titles, has claimed more than Michael van Gerwen in this event. The only other darts player who has won the tournament on more than one occasion is James Wade, with two successes.
Leading World Grand Prix Players
Because the Top 16 on the Order of Merit are in action at the 2023 World Grand Prix, then it’s a familiar set-up at the head of the outright winner market. Michael van Gerwen is up there given his brilliant track record in the event.
Gerwyn Price is also one of the front-runners with a good recent track record at the tournament. Price, the 2020 champion, has been to two of the last three World Grand Prix Finals.
With another strong season under his belt on the PDC European Tour, including reaching the Final at the recent Austrian Darts Trophy, Luke Humphries could be a challenger along with reigning world champion Michael Smith.
World Grand Prix Darts Details
The inaugural edition of the World Grand Prix Darts was in 1988 and has been played at many different venues during its time. It moved to the Morningside Arena in Leicester for the first time in 2021 where it has stayed.
The World Grand Prix features Sets, just like the World Championships. So it’s not the usual rapid-fire matches that punters will get to see.
- Round Best of (sets) First to (sets)
- First Round – Best of 3
- Second Round – Best of 5
- Quarter-finals – Best of 5
- Semi-finals – Best of 7
- Final – Best of 9
The unique factor about the World Grand Prix is the Double in, Double out format. It is currently the only PDC event that is played under this format.
It means a player can’t start scoring in a leg until they have hit a double. Checkout for the leg (501 points) has to be via a double or the bullseye as usual.
Where To Watch World Grand Prix Darts 2023
The World Grand Prix Darts 2023 is being broadcast live by Sky Sports in the UK. Look out for potential live streams at betting sites as well, especially when teeing it up with live in-play darts betting.
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