Express & Star

Michael van Gerwen up first in the Grand Slam

World champion Michael van Gerwen will feature when Wolverhampton Civic Hall throws open its doors for the opening session of the PDC Grand Slam of Darts.

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Group A rivals Kim Huybrechts and Jan Dekker start the tournament on Saturday afternoon, live on Sky Sports, with title holder Phil Taylor to follow in the evening.

BDO star Scott Waites is on second, taking on nine-time major finalist Terry Jenkins in Group B, as one of only two men to win the competition apart from Taylor.

That's alongside Raymond van Barneveld, who is another part of the first batch of fixtures against Grand Slam debutant Robbie Green.

Van Gerwen, the top seed for the £400,000 event, faces Darren Webster, who came through the wildcard qualifiers, in the sixth of eight games to be played on Saturday afternoon.

The third game involves last year's beaten Grand Slam finalist, Robert Thornton, and Vincent van der Voort in Group D.

Debutant Alan Norris, in as a runner-up at this year's BDO World Championship, then goes up against Ronny Huybrechts.

Dave Chisnall will duel with world youth champion Keegan Brown, before van Gerwen-Webster and then 'Barney' versus Green.

Night-fall will bring the legendary Taylor to the oche to play Bobby George's son Richie, as the second batch of clashes gets underway.

They go on sixth with Group E cohorts Andy Hamilton, a former Grand Slam runner-up, and ex-BDO boss Christian Kist first up.

Current Lakeside champion and PDC defector Stephen Bunting then meets Wesley Harms, before Mervyn King plays Tony O'Shea.

World Championship finalist Peter Wright is then paired with wildcard Brendan Dolan, before Gary Anderson battles with Dean Winstanley.

Taylor's game with George precedes Simon Whitlock against Michael Smith, before James Wade completes the day with wildcard Jamie Caven.

Saturday's games - split across two sessions live on Sky Sports - see the players compete in the first of three group games, with all 32 in action again on Sunday and then on either Monday or Tuesday.

The top two players from each group then progress to the knockout phase, which will take place from the last 16 onwards.

Tickets for the Grand Slam, sponsored by Singha Beer, are still available by calling 0870 320 7000 or by visiting www.wolvescivic.co.uk. Some sessions have already sold out.

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