Bunting's In, Smith's Out: The Grand Slam Qualifier Takes Its Toll

Published 7 Nov 2026

Stephen Bunting is going to Wolverhampton. Michael Smith isn't. That tells you enough about Friday's Grand Slam qualifier to know it wasn't a day for taking anything for granted.

Ten places were available at Leicester's Mattioli Arena on 6 November. Bunting took his with three averages above 100, finishing the job with a 5–2 win over Jimmy van Schie. For me, that's the way to handle being the highest-ranked player in a qualifier: give yourself as little trouble as possible.

The bigger drama came elsewhere. Joe Cullen beat Smith 5–3 in their final-round match, leaving a former Grand Slam champion outside this year's field. Danny Noppert, Damon Heta and Peter Wright also missed out.

Five legs can feel a long way away

Ricky Evans gave us the result I'd pick out from the rest. He trailed Cristo Reyes 3–0 and still won 5–3, with a 124 checkout to finish it. In a race to five, there isn't much room for a slow start. Turning that one around takes some doing.

That's what makes these qualifiers interesting to me. There's no trophy at the end of your last match, but winning it changes the next week of your season. Lose, and somebody else's name goes into the draw.

Niko Springer made his place look rather less stressful, averaging 112.25 in a 5–1 win over Stefaan Henderyck. That's a number worth noticing, even if one outstanding match doesn't tell us how he'll get on in Wolverhampton.

Now we can start looking at the draw

The ten players through are Bunting, Cullen, Evans, Springer, Bradley Brooks, Alan Soutar, Maik Kuivenhoven, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez, Tom Sykes and Carl Sneyd.

The Grand Slam runs from 14 to 22 November, with the draw scheduled for Monday 9 November. I'd rather see those groups before making predictions. Getting through Leicester is an achievement; it doesn't make anyone's next job an easy one.

Still, there's plenty to look forward to here. Bunting has done the job expected of him, Evans has rescued a match that looked to be slipping away, and Springer has put a serious average on the board. I'll be interested to see where all three land on Monday.

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sources

Image: Stephen Bunting, Premier League Berlin, 3 April 2025 (archive photo) — Sandro Halank