Darts duo warm up punters for the Grand Slam

Former BDO world champion Bob Anderson and PDC star-turned-pundit Wayne Mardle will warm Wolverhampton punters up for the Grand Slam of Darts.

The darting duo are the feature attractions of the pre-Grand Slam party at the Cleveland Arms, Stowheath Lane, on Friday night.

The £400,000 cross-code tournament opens for a seventh year at the Civic on Saturday afternoon, going right through to the following Sunday.

A number of the 32-player line up will pop into into the pub for a pre-match pint, before they all take to the oche the following day.

Anderson, 66, never played in a Grand Slam but was a BDO star as world No 1 when it was the only organisation in existence, later becoming a founder member of the PDC.

'The Limestone Cowboy' won the richest prize in the game when 1988 rolled around, the same year as claiming three successive World Masters titles, a feat only matched by Martin Adams.

In the indian summer of his career, the Somerset thrower reached the PDC world championship semi-final in 2004 and 2005, before calling time on competitive darts three years later.

Mardle is now a voice for the PDC on Sky Sports, having reached the world semis himself four times between 2004 and 2008. He was also runner-up in the 2002 World Matchplay.

The charismatic 'Hawaii 5-0-1' will be a studio guest and commentator at the Grand Slam for its duration, so is starting his stay in Wolverhampton early.

The two throwers will play each other and selected members of the audience, who can also take part in a raffle and auction.

Tickets, which are just £4, are available from the pub, online at www.clevelandarms.com or by calling 01902 451021. The night is in aid of the Poppy Appeal.