Express & Star

Draw made for Wolverhampton's Grand Slam

Grand Slam of Darts champion Raymond van Barneveld and world No 1 Phil Taylor cannot meet until the final of the Wolverhampton Civic Hall event.

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'Barney' and 'the Power' landed on opposite sides of the draw with Taylor in Group A alongside Kevin Painter, Paul Nicholson and wildcard Stuart Kellett.

Seven-time major title runner-up James Wade, Grand Slam runner-up, is joined in Group B by fellow former finalist Gary Anderson, Wesley Harms and wildcard Peter Wright.

World No 2 Adrian Lewis is in Group C with former BDO champion Christian Kist, Ronny Huybrechts and youngster Richie George, son of popular darts personality Bobby.

Michael van Gerwen could play Taylor in the semi-finals after drawing Belgian ace Kim Huybrechts, Dean Winstanley and Dutchman Vincent van der Voort in Group D.

Reigning champion Raymond van Barneveld, who overcame van Gerwen in the Grand Slam final last year, is in Group E alongside Mervyn King, Tony O'Shea and Ricky Evans.

Andy Hamilton, the No 7 seed, tops Group F alongside former Grand Slam semi-finalist Mark Walsh, ex-UK Open champion Robert Thornton and wildcard Justin Pipe.

Sixth seed Simon Whitlock faces world No 8 Wes Newton, Mark Webster and Youth Challenge Tour winner Ross Smith in Group G.

BDO world champions Ted Hankey and Scott Waites clash in Group H, which also contains Dave Chisnall and World Youth Champion Michael Smith.

Wright, Pipe, Kellett and van der Voort won through from over 170 players in yesterday's wildcard qualifier at the Robin Park in Wigan.

Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones misses the tournament for the first time after failing to make the cut, losing 4-3 to Steve Brown in the second round.

The wildcards completed the 32-player field, which is comprised mainly of players who reach the finals of major televised tournaments over a two-year period.

The Grand Slam, sponsored by William Hill, starts on Saturday night for eight days at the Civic, with the first four days seeing six sessions of group games.

The top two players from each group then progress to the knockout stage from the last 16 onwards, with both the semi-finals and final being held on Sunday November 17.

Tickets for the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts are still available by calling 0870 320 7000 or by visiting www.wolvescivic.co.uk.

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