Wildcards join darts champ Phil
Darts players are being given the chance to play alongside their heroes including Staffordshire legend Phil Taylor in a televised tournament taking place in the Black Country. Darts players are being given the chance to play alongside their heroes including Staffordshire legend Phil Taylor in a televised tournament taking place in the Black Country. Fans of the sport could win a place in the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts by taking part in a special wildcard qualifier to be held at Wolverhampton's Aldersley Leisure Village on September 30. The winner will be awarded a place in November's inaugural ITV-televised Grand Slam of Darts at the Civic Hall, guaranteeing a minimum prize of £4,000 for qualifying. Professional Darts Corporation chairman Barry Hearn said today: "This is hugely exciting news for the Grand Slam of Darts. "This is a chance for one ambitious player to join champions of our sport in an event which is being talked about all over the world." Read the full story in the Express & Star.
Fans of the sport could win a place in the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts by taking part in a special wildcard qualifier to be held at Wolverhampton's Aldersley Leisure Village on September 30. The winner will be awarded a place in November's inaugural ITV-televised Grand Slam of Darts at the Civic Hall, guaranteeing a minimum prize of £4,000 for qualifying.
Professional Darts Corporation chairman Barry Hearn said today: "This is hugely exciting news for the Grand Slam of Darts.
"This is a chance for one ambitious player to join champions of our sport in an event which is being talked about all over the world.
"We're not only inviting professional players to come along and attempt to qualify. This knockout is open to any player with the dream of sharing a stage, and even beating, Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld in November. The opportunity is there for anybody to enter and come along to live out that dream," he added.
"You only have to think back to the excitement when Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon as a wildcard to realise that miracles and the unexpected happen so often in sport. This is a chance for darts players to make that dream come true."
More than 30 superstars of the sport will go head to head in the competition, which will be held from November 17-25.
Among those taking part are current PDC world champion Raymond van Barneveld, 13-times world champion Phil Taylor, of Stoke-on-Trent, and 2007 International Darts League winner Gary Anderson.
Other stars include John Park, Colin Lloyd, Michael van Gerwen and Jelle Klassen. The nine-day event will be broadcast live on ITV1 and ITV4, the first time in a number of years the commercial channel has shown darts. Tickets are £10-£35 and available now by calling 0870 320 7000.