THE Professional Darts Corporation are delighted to announce that agreement has been reached for the Grand Slam of Darts to be shown live on Sky Sports HD for the next three years.
The 32-player tournament, which features finalists from major PDC tournaments and the semi-finalists from the Lakeside Championship over a two-year period, will be held from November 12-20 2011 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
"The Grand Slam of Darts has, over the past four years, become one of the biggest tournaments in the sport alongside the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship and Premier League Darts," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"The £400,000 prize fund alone makes for fierce competition but the unique group stage format also provides great drama and excitement for fans at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall and television viewers on Sky Sports and around the world.
"Sky Sports has continued to lead the way in the broadcasting of professional darts in recent years, firstly with their move to High Definition and more recently with the first coverage in 3D.
"Sky Sports has made a huge commitment to the Grand Slam and we look forward to continuing to establish this tournament as one of the year's biggest events.
"They have shown once again that they have a real passion for darts and we at the PDC are grateful for their tremendous support."
Sky Sports has shown the semi-finals and finals of both the World Matchplay and Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship live in 3D in the past six months.
Sky Sports also broadcasts the PDC Premier League Darts live every Thursday from February-May, as well as the UK Open Finals and World Grand Prix.
Players can qualify to compete in the Grand Slam of Darts through their performances in the major PDC championships over a two-year period.
Further players qualify by reaching the semi-finals of the Lakeside Championship or by winning through the Sky Wildcard Qualifier, which will be open to any darts player, while the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit winner will also win a place in Wolverhampton.
A total of 20 qualifiers are currently known, with players able to earn a place this year at the Players Championship Finals, UK Open, World Matchplay, European Championship, World Grand Prix and Championship League Darts.
The list of qualifying tournaments and current qualifiers is below - (name) indicates an already qualified player:
2010 Grand Slam of Darts
Winner: Scott Waites
Runner-Up: James Wade
Semi-Finalists: Steve Beaton, Wayne Jones
2009 Grand Slam of Darts
Winner: Phil Taylor
Runner-Up: (Scott Waites)
Semi-Finalists: Raymond van Barneveld, Terry Jenkins
PDC Tournaments
2011 World Championship
Winner: Adrian Lewis
Runner-Up: Gary Anderson
Semi-Finalists: Mark Webster, (Terry Jenkins)
2010 World Championship
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Simon Whitlock
Semi-Finalists: (Mark Webster), (Raymond van Barneveld)
2011 World Matchplay
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2010 World Matchplay
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: (Raymond van Barneveld)
2011 World Grand Prix
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2010 World Grand Prix
Winner: (James Wade)
Runner-Up: (Adrian Lewis)
2011 UK Open
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2010 UK Open
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: (Gary Anderson)
2011 Premier League Darts
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2010 Premier League Darts
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: (James Wade)
2009 German Darts Championship
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Mervyn King
2011 Championship League Darts
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2010 Championship League Darts
Winner: (James Wade)
Runner-Up: (Phil Taylor)
2011 Players Championship
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2010 Players Championship
Winner: Paul Nicholson
Runner-Up: (Mervyn King)
2011 European Championship
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2010 European Championship
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: (Wayne Jones)
BDO Tournaments
2011 World Championship
Winner: (Martin Adams - invitation withdrawn as per rule 2.17 of PDC rules)
Runner-Up: Dean Winstanley
Semi-Finalists: Martin Phillips, Jan Dekker
2010 World Championship
Winner: (Martin Adams)
Runner-Up: Dave Chisnall
Semi-Finalists: (Martin Phillips), Tony O'Shea
Extra Events
2011 PDC Under-21 World Championship
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2010 PDC Under-21 World Championship
Winner: Arron Monk
2011 PDC Unicorn Youth Tour
Order of Merit Winner:
Qualified Players (20)
Scott Waites
James Wade
Steve Beaton
Wayne Jones
Phil Taylor
Raymond van Barneveld
Terry Jenkins
Adrian Lewis
Gary Anderson
Mark Webster
Simon Whitlock
Mervyn King
Paul Nicholson
Dean Winstanley
Martin Phillips
Jan Dekker
Dave Chisnall
Tony O'Shea
Arron Monk
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit Leader