2025 Grand Slam Darts Betting Preview

Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2025 Grand Slam Darts betting preview. Sir Punt nailed Gian Van Veen at 12/1 at the European Championship, hopefully he can repeat the trick.

2025 Grand Slam Darts

It was nice to end the Euro Tour season by backing the winner of the European Championship. No doubt the first of many for Gian van Veen. We now move on the Grand Slam of Darts.

Whereas the European Championship qualifying system is gloriously simple, the Grand Slam of Darts is fiendishly complicated and a bit messy, to be honest. Then you have the format of play, which is another dog’s dinner, but the PDC do like to make their Majors all a bit different from each other.

Pre-2020

Before 2020 the Grand Slam was the only Major to feature players from the old BDO and the PDC. The BDO used to have some very good players but as more and more migrated across to the more professional (and wealthier PDC), the BDO was no more.

The eight slots that had originally been reserved for BDO players then went to PDC feeder series, such as the Development Tour, Challenger Tour, Women’s Series, Asian Championships and so on.

32 Players

In total we will have a field of 32 players. 24 players will consist of finalists from PDC televised events over the previous twelve months (up to a maximum of 16 players). Additional qualifiers from feeder series (up to a maximum of 8 players).

European Tour events winners (if needed to fill up to 24 players), and Players Championship event winners (if needed to fill up to 24 players). The final eight places went to the players coming through the Pro-Tour qualifying tournament held on Friday 31st October.

The 32 players are then placed into four ‘pools’. The top eight ranked qualifiers on the PDC OOM are seeded and placed into pool 1. The next eight are in pool 2. The third and fourth pools consists of the eight players from the feeder series and Pro-Tour qualifiers.

The top eight ranked players are placed into one of eight groups. Each group consists of four players, the seeds and three players, one drawn from each of the remaining three pools.

The result is that you can get some very tough groups, and conversely some groups where the two qualifiers are pretty obvious.

Round Robin

Each group is played as a round robin format, each player playing the other three in the group. The group matches are a very short, best of nine leg format and the top two players qualify for the knockout stage. The short format can give the outsiders a real puncher’s chance in the group stage, but for the top players, they can lose matches, and still qualify for the knockout stage.

It is all a bit messy and in my opinion, the tournament proper really doesn’t start until we are down to the sixteen players in the straight knockout stage.

The format also means that we quite often get two players who have come through the same group, then meeting again later in the tournament. You can have a player who has beaten player X in the groups, then losing to player X later in the tournament. It is the only tournament in which a player can lose a match, but still win the tournament.

2025 Grand Slam Darts: Past Winners

Looking at the last ten years of the Grand Slam, the number 1 seed has won it four times. Seven of the last ten winners have come from the top five seeds. Two winners came from pool B (Littler last year and Price in 2018) and in 2020 Jose de Sousa came through from pool C.

Eight of the last ten runners up have come from the top seven seeds. Martin Lukeman came from pool C last year and in 2022 Nathan Aspinall came from pool B.

Smash

Despite the convoluted draws and format, it usually ends up with two of the top ranked players meeting in the final. Martin ‘Smash’ Lukeman was a massive surprise to reach the final last year (176.00), but it wasn’t if you took my advice and backed him each way. He was in very good form coming into the event. The golden rule of darts betting still applied. Back the players in good form.

The finals are usually very poor. None of the last ten have been closer than a three leg margin of victory and the last time it was that ‘close’, was back in 2018.

It is not my favourite Major just because of the qualifying system and the format of the tournament, but it does get better after the group stage.

The 2025 Grand Slam Darts Groups

Group A

Luke Humphries

Has won six of his last ten matches and been a bit off at times, but he is a big tournament player. He has been runner up in the last two Majors and won the new World Masters earlier in the year. He won this in 2023 but he has gone out in the group stage in three of his five appearances, including last year.

Nathan Aspinall

The Asp is in decent form, winning seven of his last ten matches. He was runner up in this in 2023 to Humphries. Aspinall has come through the group stage for the last three years and has to be fancied to do so again.

His record against Humphries is not good, losing their last five matches, and it should come down to his match with Smith to decide who goes through to the knockout stage. Smith has won their last four matches, but they were in 2024 when Smith was playing better.

Michael Smith

Came through the tour card holders qualifiers last week and hit a 105 average when beating Rusty Jake Rodriguez in the quarter final. It is very hard to say where his game is right now. His win rate in 2025 is just 51% and he has lost five of his last ten matches.

He can still hit the high notes, but there is a lot of ordinary performances in there as well. Failed to get through the group stage for the last two years, and his game has regressed in 2025.

Alex Spellman

The CDC qualifier from the USA. This is his tournament debut and he has landed in a tough group. He played Humphries in the 2023 US Masters and lost 6-2. He has played on the Challenge Tour and tried his hand a Q-school but hasn’t been quite up to it.

Comes here on the back of winning the Continental Cup and will be making his second World Championship appearance in December. Stowe Buntz made it through the group stage in 2023 but the other two American qualifiers have gone out in the group stage.

2025 Grand Slam Darts Group A Winner – Luke Humphries; Runner up – Nathan Aspinall.

Group B

Chris Dobey

In excellent form with twelve wins from his last thirteen matches, but they were all floor matches. Dobey has won eight Players Championship titles but his only stage win was in the old, non-ranking Masters event in 2023.

It is the same old argument when considering Dobey, can he do it on TV, in a big ranking Major? He has only qualified for this event three times, which underlines his lack of success in the events that qualify you for this one. He has landed in a winnable group, but how deep can he go?

Damon Heta

Hasn’t been around as long as Dobey, but he is a bit of a mini-Dobey. A very good player who has won nine Players Championship events, a Euro Tour title, a World Series title and a World Cup.

In ranking Majors, he has reached one semi-final and lost eight quarter finals. Two of those losing quarter-finals came in this event. His recent form is not good, losing five of his last ten matches, one of them to Dobey. In the Majors, he has gone out in the first round of the last three. He just hasn’t been playing well enough.

Martin Lukeman

Qualified by way of reaching the final of this last year. Sadly, it was not a launchpad for his wider career. In fact, his win rate in 2025, 56%, is down from his 64% in 2024. His seasonal average has fallen by over three points.

Smash has lost six of his last ten matches and he is a different beast to the one that made us a packet last year. He does have a 3-0 H2H record with Dobey, so that match will be of interest.

Jurjen van der Velde

Qualified as runner up in last year’s World Youth Championship. His experience at senior level is very limited. He reached the last 32 at this UK Open. Jurjen has won three Challenge Tour titles in the last two years and he has won two Development titles in 2025. This is a step up in class for the Dutch youngster.

2025 Grand Slam Darts Group B Winner – Chris Dobey; Runner up – Damon Heta

Group C

Stephen Bunting

It has been a very successful season for Bunting, the Premier League excepted. He has won two Players Championship titles, two Euro Tour titles and two World Series titles. His recent form sees five wins from his last ten matches, but he has lost five of his last six. He has scored well in those matches but still lost.

Bunting is another player who has yet to win a ranking Major. He did win the non-ranking Masters in 2022 and he has reached plenty of Major quarter and semi-finals but never reached a ranking final. Bunting has played in six Grand Slams and made the play offs five times.

Martin Schindler

Has played in forty-one ranking Majors and only ever reached two quarter finals. The Wall has played in five previous Grand Slams and never reached the knockout stage. His recent form is poor, losing six of his last ten matches.

Luke Woodhouse

Woody hit good form in the final two Players Championships, playing eleven matches and winning nine, and he carried that into the tour card holder qualifier for this and won his three matches.

He still lacks the kind of consistency to win titles, but he is winning more matches these days, reaching finals on the Euro Tour and Players Championship, and has never been ranked higher than he is now.

Woodhouse has only played in one Grand Slam before and failed to reach the knockout stage. He is in with a decent chance to reach round two. He will not have been happy to be drawn into the same group as Bunting, against who he has lost his last twelve matches. Luke is also 1-5 against Schindler, but he did win their last match to get that monkey off his back.

Alexis Toylo

Qualified as the Asian Championship runner up. He has won five titles on this year’s Asian Tour, which is producing some interesting talents. His seasonal average is 86.60 but his A game is high 90s, it is just a question of him being able to access it against better players.

He beat Richard Veenstra in the World Championships last December and averaged 96 when losing to Ratajski in the next round. It is always difficult to assess players you only see a couple of times a year, but underestimating the Asian players is a mistake these days.

I think there is a chance of a surprise in this group. Toylo is a banana skin for the other three, Schindler is vulnerable, Woodhouse is growing in confidence and Bunting has been losing a few too many matches recently. Bunting’s consistency should see him through to the knockout stages once more, but I see Woodhouse as a danger man.

2025 Grand Slam Darts Group C Winner – Bunting/Woodhouse

Group D

James Wade

Enjoying lots of good runs in all sorts of tournaments. Wade has reached the finals of the UK Open and Matchplay and the quarter final of the European Championships, four Euro Tour semi-finals and won a Players Championship title.

His record at the Grand Slam is long and creditable. Wade has played in all but one of the previous Grand Slams, only once failing to make the second-round stage. He has been runner up three times and reached the semi-final in three of the last four he has played and made one final in those four. Wade has won his group in the last six Grand Slams that he has played in.

Gerwyn Price

More likely to win slimmer of the year than a Major title in 2025? Price is getting expensive to follow in Majors. His last ranking Major title was this one back in 2021. Indeed, he has only reached two finals since then.

This was the first Major title that Price won, back in 2018, and he won it again in 2019 and 2021. He has only failed to make the second round once in eight appearances. Price has reached three Major quarter finals in 2025 and in his favourite Major, he could have a good run, but he is just lacking the kind of competitive edge that set him apart in his prime.

Price has won four Players Championships in 2025, a Euro Tour title and a World Series event, but I would say that since he lost three stone in weight, his form has gone down a fraction. With a very good tournament record, he can’t be ignored but at odds of 9.50 to win it, there are better value options.

Ricky Evans

Evans come into this on the back of eight wins in his last ten matches. His consistency is not great, but his confidence will be high. Evans has played in two Grand Slams but failed to make the knockout stage. He has lost his last eleven matches against Price and seven of his last eight against Wade, so he has ended up in a very difficult group.

Steffan Bellmont

Qualified as the Challenge Tour OOM winner. The Swiss number 1 does struggle against the top players and he is right up against here.

2025 Grand Slam Darts Group D Winner – James Wade; Runner Up – Gerwyn Price

Group E

Luke Littler

This was his first Major championship title that he won, and this is the first time that he will defend one. In 2025, Littler has won four of the six Majors played so far. Most recently, he has won eight of his last ten matches and it is very hard to pick holes in his form.

He was always going to be vulnerable in the European Championship as it was held in Germany, but it still took a top performance by James Wade to knock him out. Back on home soil he will be looking to dominate once again.

Daryl Gurney

This will only be the third time that Superchin has played in a Grand Slam, which is a surprise. He made the knockout stage in his previous two. Most recently, Gurney reached the quarter finals of the European Championship but has lost five of his last ten matches overall.

Gurney has played Littler twice and was heavily beaten in both and he lost heavily to Sedlacek in their two matches in 2025, 0-6 and 1-6. He will need to up his recent form if he is to go through to round two.

Conor Scutt

Won his place at last week’s tour card holders’ qualifier and is making his second Grand Slam appearance. Last year, he opened up with a 104 average and a 5-0 win over Dave Chisnall, but he then played a couple of stinkers and was eliminated.

Scutt’s recent form sees six wins in his last ten. He won four matches in the qualifier and played very well with averages of 98, 99,104 and 104. Obviously, he doesn’t play at that level very often, and five of his last ten have seen sub 90 averages, but his A game can hurt opponents.

Karel Sedlacek

Another player to come through the tour card holder qualifier. Sedlacek hit two 97+ averages and a103 along the way and he has won eight of his last ten matches. Evil Charlie is an underestimated player and Scutt and Gurney are going to have their work cut out against him.

He lost 4-6 in his only match with Littler in a World Series match and the Czech doesn’t get fazed by whoever he plays. If he is playing well, he will be a handful.

2025 Grand Slam Darts Group E Winner – Luke Littler; Runner Up – Karel Sedlacek

Group F

Gian van Veen

Is now a Major champion having won the European Championships a couple of weeks ago. Van Veen is up there with the very best players and still improving. He has won sixteen of his last eighteen matches and the two defeats were in deciding legs.

Van Veen has played in two Grand Slams and made the quarter finals here last year.

Josh Rock

Qualified via winning the World Cup of Darts alongside Daryl Gurney. Rock’s recent form is not good, losing seven of his last ten matches and he looks frustrated. Rock has played in three Grand Slams, reaching the quarter finals in 2023 and making the playoffs in 2022. He was knocked out in the group stage last year.

Wessel Nijman

Another young player in a very youthful group. Nijman won the final Players Championship event of the year last week and then went to the tour card holders qualifier and blasted his way through that with four consecutive 5-2 wins.

Like Van Veen, Nijman is in top form, winning sixteen of his last seventeen matches. He will have been inspired by his fellow young Dutchman winning a Major title and he will now believe that he too can win one.

Nijman made his Grand Slam debut last year, averaged 107 and lost all three group matches. Two of his opponents in last year’s group? Rock and Van Veen. Time for some karmic payback?

Lisa Ashton

The veteran of the group. Ashton has played in four Grand Slams but failed to get out of the group stage of any and has lost every single match played. I can see that record being extended. In a group with three young bucks, I can’t see her being shown any mercy. Every leg will count in a group that could be decided by leg difference.

2025 Grand Slam Darts Group F Winner – Van Veen/Nijman

Group G

Michael van Gerwen

A three-time Grand Slam winner (the last in 2017), MVG failed to get out of the group stage for the first time since 2010, last year. His recent form saw him reach the semi-final of the European Championship, losing narrowly to Van Veen.

MVG has won six of his last ten matches and he is still playing well, but he lacks the overwhelming confidence he once had. His recent divorce also knocked him out of his stride, and it was a bit of a surprise to see him get as far as the semi-finals last time out.

Gary Anderson

Another one time great who is past his prime. Anderson can still turn it on, but mostly on the floor these days. He did bag another Euro Tour title earlier in the year, but he is not really that bothered anymore. He has other interests outside of darts that keep him busy and he is more of a hobby player these days.

Like MVG, Anderson has won six of his last ten matches but he is not playing at the same sort of standard as Van Gerwen.

Anderson has never won this title and has lost two finals, the last in 2018. He has reached the quarter final and semi-final in the last two years and it is a tournament he enjoys, so that may bring out his best form.

Niko Springer

Qualified by winning the Hungarian Darts Trophy. This is Springer’s debut and he is very inexperienced at Major level. He has won just one match on a TV stage. Springer has won five of his last ten matches and he can be anything from a ton plus to a sub-80. Consistent he is not.

Beau Greaves

Arguably the most interesting of the thirty two contestants. Beau is the best female darts player ever. She has won eighteen Women’s Series titles in 2025 alone, three Development Tour titles and two Challenge tour titles.

Greaves has moved up to play a lot more more mixed sex events in 2025 and is winning titles, but she is not competing regularly at Pro-Tour level, which is the next step up. She has had some Players Championship invites and held her own, beating the likes of Josh Rock, Barney and taking Luke Littler and Danny Noppert to deciding legs.

Beat Littler

She recently played Littler in the semi-final of the World Youth Championship, averaged 105 and won 6-5. Beau does admit to feeling nervous playing against the men, and it is a much higher level than she is used to most of the time, but she is too good for the Women’s Series and needs to find a new challenge.

This will be Greaves third Grand Slam and she has not yet got beyond the group stage but has won a match in both previous groups. This could be the year she takes the next step.

2025 Grand Slam Darts Group G Winner – MVG; Runner up – Beau Greaves

Group H

Jonny Clayton

Has never got past the quarter final stage of the Grand Slam but he has had some good runs in the Majors in 2025. Three semi-finals and a runners up spot, but he was playing a lot better going into those events than he is now.

The Ferret has lost five of his last ten matches and he will need to improve that form if he is to have a good run.

Danny Noppert

Has made it out of the group stage for the last three years in a row, winning his group on each occasion, but he has never got any further than that. Noppert has made three Major semi-finals in 2025 and he has won eight of his last ten matches. Noppert has to be expected to at least qualify for knockout stage, if not to win the group.

Lukas Wenig

Another to come through the tour card holders’ qualifier and he has won seven of his last ten matches, but he is the weakest player in the group.

Cam Crabtree

A promising young player and qualified as the OOM winner of the 2025 Development Tour, winning five titles. Crabtree was a quarter finalist in the penultimate Players Championship event of 2025 and while his consistency is not rock solid, he has been playing at a decent level.

He lacks experience of playing on TV, which doesn’t help, but he not without a chance of making the group stage.

2025 Grand Slam Darts Group H Winner – Danny Noppert; Runner up – Jonny Clayton.

2025 Grand Slam Darts: Group Winner Selections

Chris Dobey 2 points to win Group B @ 1.73 generally available

Danny Noppert 2 points to win Group H @ 2.40 with Ladbrokes

Wessel Nijman 1 point to win Group F @ 4.00 with Betfred

James Wade 1 point to win Group D @ 2.88 with SpreadEx

MVG 1 point to win Group G @ 2.30 with SpreadEx

Luke Woodhouse 0.5 point to win Group C @ 5.50 with SpreadEx, Ladbrokes

2025 Grand Slam Darts: Outright Winner

The last ten Grand Slams have shown a tendency for the winners and runners up to come from the top seven seeds. The best plan is to look at those players, and consider who is coming into this event in top form.

Luke Humphries has reached back-to-back Major finals and he has to be on the shortlist. But is he in top form? I would say he just a little shy of his best. If he was at his best, he would have beaten Van Veen in the European Championship, while he was just blown away by Littler in the Grand Prix.

Littler Fav

Luke Littler is the 3.00 favourite, he is in very good form and I can’t really find any strong arguments against his chances. The only question is, are his odds of 3.00 any great value? As he has won four of the first six Majors of 2025, I would say that they are. But there are threats. Gian Van Veen is 3-2 vs. Littler in 2025 and they are in the same half of the draw.

Michael van Gerwen’s form is still a bit too fragile for me. He could have beaten Van Veen in the European Championship semi-final. Van Veen had cut his finger and was struggling to grip his darts for a while, and MVG couldn’t kill him off. He is a 17.00 shot, but that is only realistic these days.

A Bit To Prove For Bullet

Stephen Bunting has lost five of his last six matches, and while he has still been playing well, that will not help his confidence. He is still to prove that he can win a Major tournament. Michael Smith got that monkey off his back here, so it can be done, but Bunting may have just come off the boil a little.

James Wade has a strong tournament record. To make a final and two semi-finals in his last four Grand Slam appearances is impressive. He has reached two Major finals in 2025 and looks generously priced once again. I have gone for him to win his group, a Grand Slam staple, but at odds of 34.00 he makes enough appeal for a modest e/w outright bet.

Van Veen Ticks Form Box

Gian Van Veen certainly ticks the form box, winning sixteen of his last eighteen matches. He is a tough group, but he should still make it through to the tournament proper. He has got to the stage of being the fourth favourite, but his odds remain attractive given his form.

Other form players who are worth noting are Chris Dobey, but his stage record suggests he will come up short before the winning line. Wessel Nijman just lacks enough experience in the Majors to get the nod, but I have backed him as a value bet to win his group. Danny Noppert falls into the same category as Dobey.

2 points Luke Littler to win the 2025 Grand Slam Darts @ 3.00 generally available

0.5 point e/w Gian Van Veen to win the 2025 Grand Slam Darts @ 11.00 with Skybet

0.5 point e/w James Wade to win the 2025 Grand Slam Darts @ 34.00 with SpreadEx, Skybet

There will be selective coverage of the group stage matches. The matches are just best of nine legs and that is not a great betting medium, so I will only be taking on any bets that look worth the added risk of a very short format.

There will be plenty of matches next week when we get into the knockout stage and the tournament proper. We have plenty of interest in various groups in any case.

-JamesPunt