Littler Gets Greaves and Zonneveld: No Room to Ease Into This Grand Slam

Well, that gives Luke Littler something to think about. Beau Greaves and Niels Zonneveld in his Grand Slam group, with just one place available in the last 16. I wouldn't be looking much further down the draw yet.

Monday's draw put all three in Group A. Littler starts against Greaves in Saturday evening's session on 14 November, as he begins his attempt to win a third straight Grand Slam title in Wolverhampton.

That's an opening match worth making time for. Greaves has already beaten him in a World Youth Championship semi-final. That doesn't tell us who wins on Saturday, but it's a good reason to avoid treating this as a routine first outing for the champion.

Two matches leave very little room

This year's change is what makes the draw so interesting for me. The field has grown to 48 players, split into 16 groups of three. Only the winner of each group goes through. The group matches are best of nine legs.

So each player gets two matches to make it count. I like the tension that creates, although I'd be nervous about it if I were supporting someone who takes a while to settle. A couple of missed doubles can suddenly feel very expensive.

And let's not turn this into a two-player group. Zonneveld is the Dutch Darts Champion. He belongs in the conversation every bit as much as the two names drawing most of the attention. I'll be particularly interested in how he handles a group where everyone will have an opinion about the opening match before he's even played.

My pick to win the group? Littler. But that's a prediction, not a reason to skip the other two. This is exactly the sort of draw that makes me want to watch the group stage rather than wait for the longer knockout matches.

The tournament runs from 14 to 22 November at WV Active Aldersley. You can find the complete groups and opening schedule in the PDC's confirmed draw. For me, Group A is already enough of a reason to tune in.

Photo: Sandro Halank / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Luke Littler, Berlin, 3 April 2025 (resized).