Former champions miss out on the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton

Popular former Grand Slam of Darts champion Michael Smith has failed to qualify for this year’s event in Wolverhampton.

‘Bully Boy’ was beaten in the final round of qualifying as 91 PDC tour card holders battled it out for the final places at WV Active Aldersley.

Smith won the title in 2022 - just two months before going on to lift the World Championship - but has slipped down the rankings to 37.

That left him needing to qualify - and he got within two legs of doing so before losing 5-3 to world No.32 Joe Cullen - a former Masters champion - at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena.

Darts legend Raymond van Barneveld - Grand Slam champion in 2012 - was also beaten in qualifying, losing in the penultimate round to Scotland’s Andy Boulton.

Dudley native Tom Bissell, the world No.73, also got close to qualifying, but went down 5-2 to Austrian world No.141 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in the final round of qualifying.

Joining Rodriguez in qualifying for the Wolverhampton event is 2023 semi-finalist Stephen Bunting - the world No.9 was the highest-ranked player to come through Friday’s event, producing a trio of ton-plus averages in wins over Arno Merk, Callan Rydz and Jimmy van Schie respectively.

Niko Springer - who defeated former world champions Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson at last year’s event - sealed his immediate return in sensational fashion, averaging 112.25 to dispatch Stefaan Henderyck.

Former World Youth champion Bradley Brooks also impressed in Leicester, averaging 106.31 to deny 2014 runner-up Dave Chisnall and secure Grand Slam qualification for the first time since 2021.

Last year's quarter-finalist Ricky Evans enjoyed a welcome return to form, overcoming William O’Connor and Cristo Reyes to advance through the Tour Card Holder Qualifier for a second consecutive year.

Alan Soutar dumped out Madars Razma, Mickey Mansell and Mike De Decker to seal his place in Wolverhampton alongside Maik Kuivenhoven - a two-time runner-up on the ProTour in 2026.

Kuivenhoven will be one of three Tour Card Holder Qualifiers making their debut in Wolverhampton, with Tom Sykes and Carl Sneyd also winning through Friday’s event in the East Midlands.

Australian number one Damon Heta was one of several big names to miss out on qualification, succumbing in the opening round alongside 2025 semi-finalist Danny Noppert, World Matchplay semi-finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode and double former world champion Peter Wright.