Sporting Life
Rob Cross, Glen Durrant and Peter Wright are in action at the Grand Slam of Darts on Monday
Rob Cross, Glen Durrant and Peter Wright are in action at the Grand Slam of Darts on Monday

Grand Slam of Darts: Monday predictions, odds, betting tips, order of play & TV times

By Chris Hammer
Darts
Tue November 13, 2018 · 6y ago

It's the final round of games in Groups E-H at the Grand Slam of Darts on Monday night so here's the full order of play, match-by-match predictions, Sky Bet odds and a suggested accumulator.

Eight players will qualify for the second round of this Sky Sports-televised event on Monday night, although we know one of those will definitely be Rob Cross, who has already assured his spot in the knockout stages with a game to spare.

Groups A-D will conclude on Tuesday night so let's now focus on tonight's eight matches in Groups E-H at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, which features BDO world champion Glen Durrant, Peter Wright and Dimitri van den Bergh.

Under the match previews are my best bets, a Monday night treble followed by the full group standings.

Read also

Grand Slam of Darts: Monday November 12

Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets

  • TV Coverage: Sky Sports (7pm GMT)
  • Group Matches (E-H): Best of Nine legs

Rob Cross (1/3) v Ryan Searle (23/10)

Group H Position: 1st - 4th
Group Points: 4 - 0
Head-to-head: 3-0
2018 meetings: 0-0

It was a much-improved display from Rob Cross to beat Dimitri van den Bergh in a cracker yesterday to seal his second-round spot, averaging 98 and hitting five of his seven attempts at doubles so it's hard to see eliminated Ryan Searle being able to pick himself up to cause a shock.

Prediction: 5-2

Andrew Gilding (23/10) v Glen Durrant (BDO) (1/3)

Group F Position: 4th - 2nd
Group Points: 0 - 2
Head-to-head: N/A

Glen Durrant has produced two high-class displays so far - first thrashing Simon Whitlock 5-1 with an average of 99 before losing a thriller to an inspired Gerwyn Price - so I'd fully expect him to get the better of Andrew Gilding, who looks set to exit the tournament with a whimper.

Prediction: 2-5

Simon Whitlock (1/1) v Gerwyn Price (4/5)

Group F Position: 3rd - 1st
Group Points: 2 - 4
Head-to-head: 5-5
2018 meetings: 2-2

Gerwyn Price was fantastic in his win over Durrant, averaging 102, firing seven 180s and also hitting five of his nine double attempts but I really think it's worth siding with marginal underdog Simon Whitlock, especially in such a short format. They are both evenly matched and have shared two victories apiece in their meetings this season. If Durrant and Whitlock both win these Group F games, we're going to have a complicated three-way tie! (Scroll to the bottom for the group tables and explanation for ties)

Prediction: 5-3

Mensur Suljovic (4/11) v Martin Schindler (11/5)

Group G Position: 2nd - 4th
Group Points: 2 - 0
Head-to-head: 0-2
2018 meetings: 0-2

I've been disappointed with Martin Schindler so far as I expected much more in my pre-event preview but he has a good record against Mensur Suljovic, who might be feeling a tad tense after his defeat to Stephen Bunting put his second-round spot in doubt. I'm going for the upset.

Prediction: 3-5

Stephen Bunting (8/11) v Scott Mitchell (BDO) (11/10)

Group G Position: 1st - 3rd
Group Points: 4 - 2
Head-to-head: 5-1
2018 meetings: 0-0

Stephen Bunting hit a 170 checkout in his 5-3 win over Schindler on Saturday and then produced a fantastic performance to beat Suljovic yesterday, averaging 104 in the process. However, former Lakeside champion Scott Mitchell thumped Schindler 5-1 with an average of 105 so this could be quite some contest.

Prediction: 3-5

Max Hopp (1/2) v Jim Williams (BDO) (13/8)

Group E Position: 3rd - 4th
Group Points: 2 - 0
Head-to-head: N/A

Jim Williams was one of the BDO players I thought could get through the group stage but he's really up against it now and must beat Max Hopp by two legs or more to stand a chance. His performance against Peter Wright gave me hope but blew his chances against Josh Payne. I think he can beat Hopp but we'll have to see if it's good enough to progress.

Prediction: 3-5

Peter Wright (1/4) v Josh Payne (3/1)

Group E Position: 1st - 3rd
Group Points: 4 - 2
Head-to-head: 5-2
2018 meetings: 4-1

After getting out of jail against Williams on day one, Peter Wright claimed a more routine victory over Max Hopp although he still needs to win at least four legs against Payne to guarantee his spot in the next round. Winning this clash convincingly could help Jim Williams too, although that won't be a motivation.

Prediction: 5-2

Dimitri van den Bergh (2/5) v Mark McGeeney (2/1)

Group H Position: 2nd - 3rd
Group Points: 2 - 2
Head-to-head: N/A

The World Youth Champion, who defends his crown against Martin Schindler later this month, could easily have four points on the board instead of Rob Cross and his performance against Voltage almost deserved it. As much as BDO world championship runner-up Mark McGeeney is a great battler, I reckon the young Belgian will have enough quality to reach the next round.

Prediction: 5-3

Monday night's suggested darts bets

  • Whitlock to beat Price at 1/1
  • Schindler to beat Suljovic at 11/5
  • Bunting v Mitchell to have over 7-5 legs, checkout of 112.5+ and over 3.5 180s at 9/2
  • Click here to place your bets

Monday night's darts accas

Grand Slam of Darts: Group standings

Group A

  1. Jonny Clayton P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +4 Pts 4
  2. (1) Michael van Gerwen P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 2
  3. Gary Robson P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff -3 Pts 2
  4. Joe Murnan P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -4 Pts 0

Group B

  1. (8) Michael Smith P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +3 Pts 4
  2. Krzysztof Ratajski P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +1 Pts 2
  3. Raymond van Barneveld P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff -1 Pts 2
  4. Adam Smith-Neale (BDO) P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -3 Pts 0

Group C

  1. (5) James Wade P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +7 Pts 4
  2. Keegan Brown P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff -1 Pts 2
  3. Wesley Harms (BDO) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff -3 Pts 2
  4. Mark Webster P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -3 Pts 0

Group D

  1. (4) Gary Anderson P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +7 Pts 4
  2. Ian White P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff 0 Pts 2
  3. Michael Unterbuchner (BDO) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff 0 Pts 2
  4. Steve Hine P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -7 Pts 0

Group E

  1. (2) Peter Wright P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +4 Pts 4
  2. Josh Payne P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +1 Pts 2
  3. Max Hopp P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff -1 Pts 2
  4. Jim Williams (BDO) P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -4 Pts 0

Group F

  1. Gerwyn Price P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +4 Pts 4
  2. Glen Durrant (BDO) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 2
  3. (7) Simon Whitlock P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff -1 Pts 2
  4. Andrew Gilding P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -6 Pts 0

Group G

  1. Stephen Bunting P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +4 Pts 4
  2. (6) Mensur Suljovic P 2 W 0 L 1 LegDiff +1 Pts 2
  3. Scott Mitchell (BDO) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +1 Pts 2
  4. Martin Schindler P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -6 Pts 0

Group H

  1. (3) Rob Cross P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +4 Pts 4
  2. Dimitri Van den Bergh P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +1 Pts 2
  3. Mark McGeeney (BDO) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff -1 Pts 2
  4. Ryan Searle P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -4 Pts 0

Group format & what happens if there are ties?

The 32 players are drawn into eight groups of four players during the round-robin stage, and they will play each other once. The opening games are decided by a draw, with the second set of matches seeing the two winners from the first games meeting each other, and the two losers also playing each other. The third set of matches will consist of the pairings which have not previously met.

Two points are awarded for a win and no points will be awarded for a loss. Each game is the best of nine legs.

The top two players in each group will progress to the knockout phase. Should there be a two-way points tie for first place in any group, then the player with the best leg difference will be deemed to have won the group. If both players have the same leg difference, then the player who won the group match between the two players will be deemed to have won the group.

Should Points, Leg Difference, Tournament Average and Legs Won Against Throw not be able to separate three players, then if one player has defeated both of the other two players then this player will be deemed to have finished higher, and the winner of the group match between the remaining two players will be the ‘second’ of the three. Should the three players have secured one win apiece against each other, then a Nine-Dart Shoot-Out will be played between the relevant players to determine final standings, with the highest aggregate score over nine darts being used to separate players.

In the event a “Nine-Dart Shoot-Out” finishes level between two or more players, those players who have tied on the most points will continue to throw three darts each in the same order until one player scores more points than the other player(s) with his three darts.

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