Grand Slam of Darts, Favourites & Outsiders

The Grand Slam of Darts isn’t a tournament that generally throws up any big surprises, with just six different players winning the title in the last 13 years. However, those who are big into darts betting will have been handsomely rewarded for backing 2020 winner José de Sousa, who was a 20/1 outsider before the tournament began back in November. With a while to go before the next Grand Slam, we’ll take a look at some of the likely favourites and outsiders.

 

The Favourites

As with most tournaments on the PDC tour, Michael van Gerwen will be at the head of the betting markets. A lot of this will depend on what kind of year he’ll have in 2021, but the 31 year old Dutchman has already won the Grand Slam three times. All three of those wins actually came in succession in 2015, 2016 and 2017 during a spell in which everything MVG touched turned to gold. He’s already second in the list of players with the most wins (3 behind the great Phil Taylor), and he has time on his side, so you’d expect him to take that title outright before he retires.

Gerwyn Price is the Marmite of the darts world, you either love him, or you don’t! Regardless of what your feelings towards him are, one thing is for sure; he’s a very talented player. The Welshman will be aiming for his third Grand Slam win in 2021, after winning the tournament back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. After getting knocked out in the second round of the 2020 Grand Slam, he’ll be keen to bounce back next year.

Another who is likely to be at the top of the betting for the 2021 tournament is Peter Wright. The Scotsman has never won the Grand Slam before and didn’t even make it out of the group stage of the 2020 tournament, despite being a top seed. He’s finished runner up twice, most recently in 2019, and he’ll see this tournament as a realistic opportunity to add to his list of honours.

 

The Outsiders

Not exactly an obscure selection for an ‘outsider’, but James Wade has made it to three Grand Slam finals, losing out each time. The most recent of those was his 16-12 loss to José de Sousa in the 2020 final, and while that wound will still be fresh, he clearly knows what it takes to get through to the final two. His final appearances have been separated by several years each time, so if you’re the suspicious type, you may not think he will get to the final again for a while, but with some luck, he may land his first Grand Slam in 2021.

It’s hard to talk about outsiders without talking about 2020 champion José de Sousa. The Portuguese player, nicknamed ‘The Special One’, has had a rather unremarkable career, but 2020 saw him put in his best ever performances in all but one of the major PDC tour events. There’s no telling what that’s going to do for his confidence, and he could be one to watch at all of the big tournaments in 2021. He did manage to avoid the big dogs to land his maiden title, so it will be interesting to see if he can add to his tally when up against the best.

The Grand Slam of Darts really brings the darts world together, and we cannot wait for the 2021 tournament to begin.

 

 

PDC Grand Slam of Darts Past Winners

The Grand Slam of Darts first started in 2007 and is a cross-organisation tournament. It features top players from the PDC and the BDO. The initial rounds consist of players of both organisations competing in a round-robin group phase with the top two progressing into a straight knockout to decide the eventual winner.

Below are a list of winners and runners-up of this event and you can also see the organisation they were playing under at the time of the event.

 

Year	Winner	Org	Score		Score	Runner-up	Org
2020	Jose de Sousa	PDC	16	-	12	James Wade	PDC
2019	Gerwyn Price	PDC	16	-	6	Peter Wright	PDC
2018	Gerwyn Price	PDC	16	-	13	Gary Anderson	PDC
2017	Michael van Gerwen	PDC	16	-	12	Peter Wright	PDC
2016	Michael van Gerwen	PDC	16	-	8	James Wade	PDC
2015	Michael van Gerwen	PDC	16	-	13	Phil Taylor	PDC
2014	Phil Taylor	PDC	16	-	13	Dave Chisnall	PDC
2013	Phil Taylor	PDC	16	-	6	Robert Thornton	PDC
2012	Raymond van Barneveld	PDC	16	-	14	Michael van Gerwen	PDC
2011	Phil Taylor	PDC	16	-	4	Gary Anderson	PDC
2010	Scott Waites	BDO	16	-	12	James Wade	PDC
2009	Phil Taylor	PDC	16	-	2	Scott Waites	BDO
2008	Phil Taylor	PDC	18	-	9	Terry Jenkins	PDC
2007	Phil Taylor	PDC	18	-	11	Andy Hamilton	PDC