THE Professional Darts Corporation are delighted to announce that PartyBets.com will sponsor the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts, with prize money for the tournament increasing to a huge £300,000.
The tournament will see champions from both PDC and BDO/WDF major events invited to compete at the Wolverhampton Civic from 17-25 November.
As a result of a new title sponsorship deal with PartyBets.com, the initial prize fund announced has now been increased by £50,000 to £300,000 - the second highest on offer for any tournament in the sport behind the PDC's Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.
The winner of the PartyPoker.net Grand Slam of Darts will receive £80,000, with first round guaranteed £4,000.
The prize fund has now overtaken the £265,000 Holsten Premier League Darts, as well as the £224,000 on offer at the BDO Championship.
"It is a pleasure to welcome PartyBets.com as the exclusive title sponsor for the Grand Slam of Darts," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"This event is eagerly anticipated from players, fans and officials in the darting world and we have seen huge interest already since announcing that we would be staging this event earlier this year.
"It will also be a pleasure to welcome the champions from the BDO/WDF circuit into this event to play for prize money bigger than any they have ever competed for before and to test themselves against the stars of the PDC."
A total of 21 players have already qualified for the tournament, with the winner and runner-up from the Topic International Darts League this weekend receiving invitations.
Further places will go to the finalists in next weekend's PDC US Open, as well as the remaining major tournaments on the darting calendar before November.
PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts - New Prize Fund
| Winner | £80,000 |
| Runner-Up | £35,000 |
| 3-4th | £15,000 |
| 5-8th | £10,000 |
| 9-16th | £6,000 |
| 17-32nd | £4,000 |
| High Checkout | £3,000 |
| Total Prize Fund | £300,000 |
Players will be selected from the tournaments listed, with those players named already fulfilling the entry criteria to earn an invitation to compete.
PDC Tournaments
2007 World Championship
Winner: Raymond van Barneveld
Runner-Up: Phil Taylor
Semi-Finalists: Andy Jenkins
Andy Hamilton
2006 World Championship
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Peter Manley
Semi-Finalists: Wayne Mardle
Wayne Jones
2007 World Matchplay
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 World Matchplay
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: James Wade
2007 World Grand Prix
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 World Grand Prix
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Terry Jenkins
2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic
Winner: John Part
Runner-Up: (Raymond van Barneveld)
2007 UK Open
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 UK Open
Winner: (Raymond van Barneveld)
Runner-Up: Barrie Bates
2007 PDC US Open
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 World Series of Darts
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Adrian Lewis
2007 Premier League Darts
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 Premier League Darts
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: Roland Scholten
2007 DPA Australian Open
Winner:
2007 South African Open
Winner:
BDO/WDF Tournaments
2007 World Championship
Winner: Martin Adams
Runner-Up: Phill Nixon
Semi-Finalists: Niels de Ruiter/Mervyn King
2006 World Championship
Winner: Jelle Klaasen
Runner-Up: (Raymond van Barneveld)
Semi-Finalists: Shaun Greatbatch
(Martin Adams)
2007 World Masters
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 World Masters
Winner: Michael van Gerwen
Runner-Up: (Martin Adams)
PDC-BDO/WDF Tournaments
2007 International Darts League
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 International Darts League
Winner: (Raymond van Barneveld)
Runner-Up: Colin Lloyd
2007 World Darts Trophy
Winner:
Runner-Up:
2006 World Darts Trophy
Winner: (Phil Taylor)
Runner-Up: (Martin Adams)
Click here for the initial media release - PDC Launch Grand Slam of Darts