Gerwyn Price has missed out on a place in this month’s Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts after failing to secure one of the eight spots on offer at the Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Leicester.
The three-time Grand Slam champion initially suggested he would skip Friday’s qualifying event, reporting on Instagram after his European Darts Championship final exit last month he would only play the Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship this year.
Price headlined the strong 99-player line-up at the Mattioli Arena and fired a 101 average in his 5-2 win over Jurjen van der Velde, then despatched Robert Owen by the same margin to reach the last 16.
Victory over Mickey Mansell would have been enough to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts from November 9-17, live on Sky Sports, but a 5-3 defeat means Price – a winner in 2018, 2019 and 2021 – will not feature in the event for the first time since 2015.
Mansell joins James Wade, Cameron Menzies, Danny Noppert, Ross Smith, Ryan Joyce, Keane Barry and Martin Lukeman as the final eight qualifiers, with the final place in the 32-player field to be confirmed following the conclusion of the Winmau Challenge Tour this weekend.
Big names miss out in Grand Slam qualifier
Wade thrashed former World Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock in straight legs and despatched Germany’s Florian Hempel by the same margin, with a 5-1 victory over Michele Turetta ensuring the top-eight finish required to secure his Grand Slam of Darts return.
Mansell will now make his Grand Slam of Darts debut, having also beaten former world champion Raymond van Barneveld during his run, while Noppert’s qualification started with a final-leg victory over Steve Beaton – playing his final season on the PDC ProTour.
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Steve Beaton played his last PDC ProTour match against Niels Zonneveld in the Players Championship 30 [Credit: PDC]
Lukeman fired four consecutive ton-plus averages to confirm his place, with Smith edging Jeffrey de Graff – who knocked out Joe Cullen in the previous round – in the last 16 and Joyce knocking out last year’s quarter-finalist Damon Heta during his run to a qualification spot.
Menzies defeated former Grand Slam semi-finalist Mervyn King, Steve Lennon and last year’s World Matchplay runner-up Nathan Aspinall – the world No 7 – during his qualification, coming the same week he won his maiden PDC ranking title at Players Championship 29.
Daryl Gurney, Gabriel Clemens and Chris Dobey were all eliminated in the last 32, while Jonny Clayton saw his hopes ended a round earlier by Latvia’s Madars Razma and Dirk van Duijvenbode knocked out by Danny van Trijp. Last year’s UK Open champion Andrew Gilding also missed out.
The draw for the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts will be made on Monday November 4.
How does the Grand Slam of Darts work?
The group stage of the 32-player event sees the players competing in a round-robin format across the opening four days at WV Active Aldersley, with 16 ties taking place across two sessions on Saturday November 9 and Sunday November 10.
Following the conclusion of the group stage, the top two players from each group make it through to the knockout stage, with the last 16 split across Wednesday and Thursday evening.
The quarter-finals are held on Friday and Saturday, before the tournament concludes with a bumper double-session on Sunday, November 17 – the afternoon’s semi-finals are followed by the final in the evening session.
Watch the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts on November 9-17 live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW, providing instant access to live action from the Premier League and EFL, plus darts, cricket, tennis, golf and so much more.