Wolverhampton hit the bullseye with the Grand Slam of Darts, with the Civic Hall odds on to host the event again next year, the Express & Star can reveal today.
TV chiefs, promoters, sponsors and organisers have all voted the nine-day sporting spectacular watched by 10,000 spectators and won by Staffordshire’s Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor as a huge hit.
The same dates have already been pencilled in for next year by both the Civic and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), which staged the inaugural £1m event.
The PDC today announced it would repeat the tournament again next year.
Its spokesman Dave Allen said: “There is no reason why it should not be returning to the Civic. Everybody is very pleased with the venue – it was packed to the rafters and the atmosphere was great.
“It lived up to all our expectations. Everything is looking very positive and we hope to be back again next year.”
PDC chairman Barry Hearn, one of the most powerful sports promoters in the country and the brains behind the event, said: “We are delighted with how successful the first Grand Slam of Darts has been.
“It produced some great memories and hopefully the 32 players who took part enjoyed the tournament as much as myself, ITV and the darting public did.
“We can confirm that the event will be held again next year and the dates and venue will be confirmed in due course.”
The semi-finalists from this year’s tournament are all guaranteed another invite to the event that involved all the top players from both the PDC and its rival the British Darts Organisation.
Phil Taylor, who beat Andy Hamilton 18-11 in Sunday’s thrilling final to pocket the £80,000 first prize, said: “This is one of the biggest tournaments we have got and the standard has been fantastic.
“I am the first name on the trophy but if I never win it again I am still there - the first.”
The event proved an amazing showcase for Wolverhampton and the Civic, with 55 hours of live and recorded action on ITV1, ITV4 and Dutch TV, and recorded highlights flashed around the globe to 15 other countries including Australia and South Africa.
The Civic was a sellout on many occasions during the nine days of action on the oche.
Its capacity was cut to about 1,400 after it was made to look like a beer keller and create a ‘bear pit’ atmosphere. Around 10,000 spectators paid to watch the tournament.
Civic spokesman John Penney concluded: “The Grand Slam of Darts was a great victory for Phil Taylor, a great victory for Wolverhampton and a great victory for ourselves.”
One Comment
Sounds Excellent and all the footage I saw was a great advert for Wolves!!
Well done to all involved.