MICHAEL VAN GERWEN and Martin Adams will lock horns in the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts next week after being drawn in Group A for the 32-player event at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
Dutch superstar van Gerwen claimed the prestigious title in the Sky Sports-televised event 12 months ago, defeating six-time champion Phil Taylor in a thrilling final.
With the 32 players split into eight groups for the round-robin phase in Wolverhampton, van Gerwen has been paired with three-time Lakeside Champion Martin Adams, Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan and former World Youth Champion Max Hopp.
2010 Grand Slam of Darts champion Scott Waites, the reigning Lakeside Champion, has been drawn into Group B alongside number eight seed Robert Thornton and two Wolverhampton debutants, Wales' Gerwyn Price and Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Group C sees PDC world number five Peter Wright drawn alongside Australia's Simon Whitlock, Warwickshire youngster Ted Evetts and Canada's Jeff Smith, who lost to Waites in the Lakeside Championship final in January.
Six-time Wolverhampton winner Phil Taylor heads Group D, and is drawn with Stoke rival Ian White, Norfolk-based qualifier Darren Webster and BDO World Trophy winner Darryl Fitton, who is making his first Grand Slam appearance since 2010.
PDC World Champion Gary Anderson, the number two seed, is joined in Group E by Alan Norris, qualifier Nathan Derry and BDO number one Glen Durrant, who is making his Grand Slam debut.
In-form Mensur Suljovic, the recent European Championship runner-up, heads Group F alongside 2012 Grand Slam of Darts champion Raymond van Barneveld, with World Youth Championship finalist Nathan Aspinall and Dutch ace Danny Noppert joining them as they make their Wolverhampton debuts.
2010 finalist James Wade is the seeded player in Group G, alongside former runner-up Dave Chisnall, James Wilson and Tipton-based Jamie Hughes.
Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis heads Group H, and is drawn with former Lakeside Champion Scott Mitchell and emerging talents Benito van de Pas and Chris Dobey.
The round-robin phase sees the players compete in their opening matches on Saturday November 12, with the second group games on Sunday November 13.
The final set of matches is then split across Monday and Tuesday, with the top two players from each group progressing to the knockout last 16 to challenge for the title, with the event culminating with the semi-finals and final on Sunday November 20.
Tickets for the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts can be purchased by calling 0870 320 7000 or online at www.theticketfactory.com/PDC.
SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts Group Stage Draw
Group A
| Michael van Gerwen (1) |
| Brendan Dolan |
| Max Hopp |
| Martin Adams |
Group B
| Robert Thornton (8) |
| Gerwyn Price |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh |
| Scott Waites |
Group C
| Peter Wright (5) |
| Simon Whitlock |
| Ted Evetts |
| Jeff Smith |
Group D
| Phil Taylor (4) |
| Ian White |
| Darren Webster |
| Darryl Fitton |
Group E
| Gary Anderson (2) |
| Alan Norris |
| Nathan Derry |
| Glen Durrant |
Group F
| Mensur Suljovic (7) |
| Raymond van Barneveld |
| Nathan Aspinall |
| Danny Noppert |
Group G
| James Wade (6) |
| Dave Chisnall |
| James Wilson |
| Jamie Hughes |
Group H
| Adrian Lewis (3) |
| Benito van de Pas |
| Chris Dobey |
| Scott Mitchell |
The draw numbers were:
SEEDS (eight highest ranked PDC players)
1 Michael van Gerwen
2 Gary Anderson
3 Adrian Lewis
4 Phil Taylor
5 Peter Wright
6 James Wade
7 Mensur Suljovic
8 Robert Thornton
POT 2 (eight next highest ranked PDC players)
1 Dave Chisnall
2 Ian White
3 Raymond van Barneveld
4 Benito van de Pas
5 Simon Whitlock
6 Gerwyn Price
7 Alan Norris
8 Brendan Dolan
POT 3 (eight next highest ranked PDC players)
1 James Wilson
2 Max Hopp
3 Darren Webster
4 Chris Dobey
5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
6 Nathan Aspinall
7 Nathan Derry
8 Ted Evetts
POT 4 (BDO qualifiers in ranking order)
1 Glen Durrant
2 Scott Mitchell
3 Danny Noppert
4 Jamie Hughes
5 Martin Adams
6 Scott Waites
7 Darryl Fitton
8 Jeff Smith