The second PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts, won by Phil Taylor at the Wolverhampton Civic on Sunday, was a huge success, with increased crowds and superb television audiences for both ITV4's live coverage and the ITV1 highlights programmes.
The Grand Slam of Darts came after ITV4's coverage of the European Championship recently and will be followed at the end of January by coverage of the Players Championship Finals from the Circus Tavern, Purfleet.
For the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts, there are a number of changes to the invitation criteria for the Professional Darts Corporation-organised event which at its discretion invites players who have enjoyed success in major tournaments within both the PDC and BDO/WDF systems and other certain selection criteria.
Both the winner and runner-up from the 2009 Championship League Darts, which is screened on the internet and paid more than £175,000 in prize money this year, will be invited to participate in the Grand Slam of Darts.
The winner only from the 2008 World Masters and 2009 PDC US Open will be invited, alongside the finalists from the inaugural Players Championship Finals.
Prize money will increase by £44,000 to £400,000 for next year's tournament, with the 2009 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts Champion taking home £100,000.
The runner-up prize money increases to £50,000 and the semi-finalists will receive £25,000.
Additionally, the player finishing at the top of each group following the round-robin first round will receive a £3,000 bonus, with the second-placed player joining the group winner in round two.
The player finishing third in each group will receive £4,000, with the fourth placed player earning £2,500.
|
2009 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts | ||
|
Prize |
Total | |
|
Winner |
£100,000 |
£100,000 |
|
Runner-Up |
£50,000 |
£50,000 |
|
Semi-Final Losers |
£25,000 |
£50,000 |
|
Quarter-Final Losers |
£15,000 |
£60,000 |
|
Second Round Losers |
£8,000 |
£64,000 |
|
Group Winner's Bonus |
£3,000 |
£24,000 |
|
Third Place In Group |
£4,000 |
£32,000 |
|
Fourth Place In Group |
£2,500 |
£20,000 |
|
Total |
£400,000 | |
2009 Grand Slam of Darts Invitations
Grand Slam of Darts
2008 Grand Slam of Darts
Winner: Phil Taylor
Runner-Up: Terry Jenkins
Semi-Finalists: Mervyn King, Gary Anderson
2007 Grand Slam of Darts
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Andy Hamilton
Semi-Finalists: (Gary Anderson), Kevin McDine
PDC Tournaments
2009 World Championship
Winner:
Runner-Up:
Semi-Finalists:
2008 World Championship
Winner: John Part
Runner-Up: Kirk Shepherd
Semi-Finalists: Kevin Painter, Wayne Mardle
2009 World Matchplay
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2008 World Matchplay
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: James Wade
2009 World Grand Prix
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2008 World Grand Prix
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Raymond van Barneveld
2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: (James Wade)
2009 UK Open
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2008 UK Open
Winner: (James Wade)
Runner-Up: Gary Mawson
2009 US Open
Winner:
2008 US Open
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Colin Lloyd
2009 Premier League Darts
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2008 Premier League Darts
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: (James Wade)
2008 German Darts Championship
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2007 German Darts Championship
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Denis Ovens
2009 Championship League Darts
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2008 Championship League Darts
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
2009 European Championship
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2008 European Championship
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Adrian Lewis
BDO Tournaments
2009 World Championship
Winner:
Runner-Up:
Semi-Finalists:
2008 World Championship
Winner: Mark Webster
Runner-Up: Simon Whitlock
Semi-Finalists: Martin Adams, Brian Woods
2008 World Masters
Winner:
2007 World Masters
Winner: Robert Thornton
Runner-Up: Darryl Fitton
Further Qualifiers
Dart Players Australia Qualifier
Number one in 2009 PDC North American Order of Merit
European Order of Merit Leader
ITV Wildcard Qualifier Winner
The PDC reserves the right to amend this qualifying criteria