PAINTER & WINSTANLEY TO KICK OFF WILLIAM HILL GRAND SLAM OF DARTS

KEVIN PAINTER will kick off the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts on Saturday November 10 against Dean Winstanley as the group stage of the £400,000 event begins, with Phil Taylor and Scott Waites also in action on the opening night at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

The first of nine days of play in the tournament will begin as Groups A-D play their opening games on Saturday evening.

The Group C clash between Players Championship Finals winner Kevin Painter and 2010 Lakeside Championship finalist Dean Winstanley will open the event, before Scott Waites, the Grand Slam champion two years ago, plays Mark Webster.

Dutchman Jan Dekker faces Mervyn King in their Group D opener before the four players in Group B take to the stage, with UK Open champion Robert Thornton playing two-time World Champion Ted Hankey and World Grand Prix winner Michael van Gerwen up against Steve Beaton.

Reigning Grand Slam of Darts champion Phil Taylor then meets Co Stompe in their Group A clash, before European Champion Simon Whitlock faces James Hubbard and 2010 runner-up James Wade plays former World Youth Champion Arron Monk.

Groups E-H will then play their opening games in Sunday^s afternoon session at the Wolves Civic, which will kick off when World Cup finalist Paul Nicholson meets former World Grand Prix runner-up Brendan Dolan.

2007 runner-up Andy Hamilton then plays Barrie Bates in the other Group F game before Terry Jenkins - the 2008 Wolverhampton finalist - meets Dutch debutant Wesley Harms in Group G.

Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld plays Mark Walsh in Group H before a Group E double-header is contested, with PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis facing Tony O^Shea and Gary Anderson playing John Part.

Lakeside Champion Christian Kist then makes his Grand Slam of Darts debut against Wolverhampton^s home favourite Wayne Jones, with the session^s final game seeing European Championship finalist Wes Newton up against Welshman Martin Phillips.

Sunday^s evening session will see Groups A-D play their second league games, with Saturday^s winners playing each other and the losers also meeting.

Groups E-H will play their second games on Monday night and conclude their fixtures on Wednesday, with Groups A-D playing their third league matches on Tuesday evening.

The top two players from each group will then progress to the knockout stage from the last 16 onwards, with £2,500 Group Winner^s bonus on offer to players from the round-robin group stage and the possibility of any ties for places being decided by a ^Nine-Dart Shoot-Out^ on stage following the completion of group games should players be tied on Points and Leg Difference.

The second round will be split across Thursday and Friday nights and the quarter-finals are played across two sessions on Saturday November 17, with the semi-finals then taking place on Sunday afternoon and the final on Sunday evening.

Tickets for the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts are still available by calling 0870 320 7000, via www.wolvescivic.co.uk or by visiting the Wolves Civic Box Office.

William Hill Grand Slam of Darts
Schedule of Play
Saturday November 10
7pm-11pm
Groups A-D First Games
Kevin Painter v Dean Winstanley (C)
Scott Waites v Mark Webster (A)
Jan Dekker v Mervyn King (D)
Robert Thornton v Ted Hankey (B)
Michael van Gerwen v Steve Beaton (B)
Phil Taylor v Co Stompe (A)
Simon Whitlock v James Hubbard (C)
James Wade v Arron Monk (D)

Sunday November 11
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
Groups E-H First Games
Paul Nicholson v Brendan Dolan (F)
Andy Hamilton v Barrie Bates (F)
Terry Jenkins v Wesley Harms (G)
Raymond van Barneveld v Mark Walsh (H)
Adrian Lewis v Tony O^Shea (E)
Gary Anderson v John Part (E)
Christian Kist v Wayne Jones (H)
Wes Newton v Martin Phillips (G)

The order of games for all sessions below will be announced at www.pdc.tv throughout the event.

Evening Session - 7pm-11pm
Groups A-D Second Games
The winners of Saturday^s games will play each other, and the losers will play each other.

Monday November 12
7pm-11pm
Groups E-H Second Games
The winners of Sunday afternoon^s games will play each other, and the losers will play each other.

Tuesday November 13
7pm-11pm
Groups A-D Final Games

Wednesday November 14
7pm-11pm
Groups E-H Final Games

Thursday November 15
7pm-11pm
Second Round
Winner A v Runner-Up B
Winner B v Runner-Up A
Winner C v Runner-Up D
Winner D v Runner-Up C

Friday November 16
7pm-11pm
Second Round
Winner E v Runner-Up F
Winner F v Runner-Up E
Winner G v Runner-Up H
Winner H v Runner-Up G

Saturday November 17
Afternoon Session - 1pm-5pm
2x Quarter-Finals

Evening Session - 7pm-11pm
2x Quarter-Finals

Sunday November 18
Afternoon Session - 1pm-5pm
Semi-Finals

Evening Session - 7pm-9pm
Final

Format

Prize Fund

ENDS