Grand Slam of Darts Explained: How Does the Tournament Work?

The Grand Slam of Darts is one of the premier tournaments on the darts calendar, bringing together some of the world’s best players to compete for the honour of becoming champion and lifting the prestigious Eric Bristow Trophy, named after the legendary darts player.
But the Grand Slam has some important distinctions from many of the other big tournaments during the season, particularly in terms of its format and how players get in.

In this blog we’ll explain all you need to know about the Grand Slam of Darts, breaking down how the tournament works, what makes it different and what to expect before the action gets underway on Saturday 14 November 2026. Some of the biggest changes to the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts are the expanded number of players to compete and the bigger prize fund. The tournament has expanded from 32 players in 2025 to 48 this year, with the total prize fund swelling from £650,000 to a whopping £1million.

The changes also bring in a new group stage format, meaning the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts will be a particularly exciting edition of one of the sport’s biggest tournaments.

The Grand Slam of Darts is an annual PDC event first held in 2007 and is played in Wolverhampton. It is always one of the last major tournaments of the year on the darts calendar and has become a hugely important event in the sport.

The tournament was initially introduced to bring together some of the best professional players from the PDC and BDO circuits, allowing players from both organisations to compete against one another. The Grand Slam has continued as a PDC tournament since the BDO went into liquidation in 2020, bringing together some of the biggest names in the sport to compete for the title.

The trophy itself was renamed after darts legend Eric Bristow after his death in 2018, a five-time World Champion and one of the most influential figures in the sport’s history. Since then the winner has lifted the Eric Bristow Trophy with Gerwyn Price becoming the first player to win the newly named trophy in 2018.

One of the key differences between the Grand Slam of Darts and the other major events on the darts calendar is the format it uses. The Grand Slam will begin with a group stage, rather than the traditional knockout format seen at tournaments such as the PDC World Darts Championship.

First players have to play against others in their group to get a place for the next round. After the group stages the tournament moves into a knockout stage where players must win each game to progress to the final and play for the Eric Bristow Trophy.

Some big changes have been made to the group stage for the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts from previous versions of the tournament. The main reason is the increase in the number of participants. In 2025 there were 32 players and in 2026 there are 48 players.

The tournament had previously been structured with eight groups of four players, with the top two from each progressing to the knockout stages. The new format is 16 groups of three players and only the group winners progress to the next round.
It means every game is going to be massively important as players only have two group games now to make their way into the knockout stages and there is a lot less room for error. 

With the new format of groups of three for 2026 it is also possible that all three players end up with the same amount of points. If this happens, the PDC will use a number of criteria to determine the group winner, starting with leg difference, followed by total legs won, legs won against throw and player averages. If players cannot be separated, there will be a nine dart shootout where each player throws nine darts to score as many points as possible. The player with the most points wins the shoot-out.

The group stage sees the 16 group winners advance to the knockout stages of the tournament. From this point onwards the Grand Slam is a more traditional knockout format starting with the Last 16 and going through to the quarter finals, semi finals and ultimately the final.

The number of legs required to win a match varies depending on the stage of the tournament and the matches increase in length as the tournament progresses. The table below shows the format of the matches for each stage and the number of legs players need to win to advance to the next round.

There is plenty to play for at the Grand Slam of Darts with players competing for one of the most iconic trophies in the sport, along with a sizeable prize fund.

The prize money has been boosted substantially for the 2026 tournament, up from £650,000 in 2025 to a whopping £1 million in 2026. There is a further £350,000 on offer across the competition with the winner taking home £200,000 and the famous Eric Bristow Trophy.

Since it began back in 2007, some of the biggest names in the sport have won the Grand Slam of Darts, including the likes of Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price. Luke Littler has been one of the tournament’s stand-out performers in recent years, winning the title in 2024 and 2025.

The trophy was renamed The Eric Bristow Trophy in 2018 to mark the life of one of darts' greatest players.

Here’s the full roll call of all the Grand Slam of Darts winners since the event started in 2007.

The Grand Slam of Darts is traditionally played late in the darts calendar each year. The tournament will take place from Saturday 14 November to Sunday 22 November in 2026 with the action at WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton.
Over nine days of competition, some of the biggest names in professional darts will be in action, battling it out for the prestigious Eric Bristow Trophy and a share of the £1million prize fund.

One of the biggest changes in the history of the tournament will come at the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts, when the number of players will be increased from 32 to 48. This will also see a change to the group stage, with 16 groups of three replacing the previous eight groups of four.

Every game now is that much more important, with only the group winners going through to the knockout rounds. 'There are only two group games to try and get through to the next round now, so there is very little room for error.

The prize fund has increased from £650,000 to £1 million with the format changes. That gives players even more to play for as they aim to lift the Eric Bristow Trophy and be crowned 2026 Grand Slam of Darts champions.