KEVIN PAINTER will kick off the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts on Saturday November 10 against Dean Winstanley as the group stage of the £400,000 event begins, with Phil Taylor and Scott Waites also in action on the opening night at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
The first of nine days of play in the tournament will begin as Groups A-D play their opening games on Saturday evening.
The Group C clash between Players Championship Finals winner Kevin Painter and 2010 Lakeside Championship finalist Dean Winstanley will open the event, before Scott Waites, the Grand Slam champion two years ago, plays Mark Webster.
Dutchman Jan Dekker faces Mervyn King in their Group D opener before the four players in Group B take to the stage, with UK Open champion Robert Thornton playing two-time World Champion Ted Hankey and World Grand Prix winner Michael van Gerwen up against Steve Beaton.
Reigning Grand Slam of Darts champion Phil Taylor then meets Co Stompe in their Group A clash, before European Champion Simon Whitlock faces James Hubbard and 2010 runner-up James Wade plays former World Youth Champion Arron Monk.
Groups E-H will then play their opening games in Sunday's afternoon session at the Wolves Civic, which will kick off when World Cup finalist Paul Nicholson meets former World Grand Prix runner-up Brendan Dolan.
2007 runner-up Andy Hamilton then plays Barrie Bates in the other Group F game before Terry Jenkins - the 2008 Wolverhampton finalist - meets Dutch debutant Wesley Harms in Group G.
Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld plays Mark Walsh in Group H before a Group E double-header is contested, with PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis facing Tony O'Shea and Gary Anderson playing John Part.
Lakeside Champion Christian Kist then makes his Grand Slam of Darts debut against Wolverhampton's home favourite Wayne Jones, with the session's final game seeing European Championship finalist Wes Newton up against Welshman Martin Phillips.
Sunday's evening session will see Groups A-D play their second league games, with Saturday's winners playing each other and the losers also meeting.
Groups E-H will play their second games on Monday night and conclude their fixtures on Wednesday, with Groups A-D playing their third league matches on Tuesday evening.
The top two players from each group will then progress to the knockout stage from the last 16 onwards, with £2,500 Group Winner's bonus on offer to players from the round-robin group stage and the possibility of any ties for places being decided by a 'Nine-Dart Shoot-Out' on stage following the completion of group games should players be tied on Points and Leg Difference.
The second round will be split across Thursday and Friday nights and the quarter-finals are played across two sessions on Saturday November 17, with the semi-finals then taking place on Sunday afternoon and the final on Sunday evening.
Tickets for the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts are still available by calling 0870 320 7000, via www.wolvescivic.co.uk or by visiting the Wolves Civic Box Office.
William Hill Grand Slam of Darts
Schedule of Play
Saturday November 10
7pm-11pm
Groups A-D First Games
Kevin Painter v Dean Winstanley (C)
Scott Waites v Mark Webster (A)
Jan Dekker v Mervyn King (D)
Robert Thornton v Ted Hankey (B)
Michael van Gerwen v Steve Beaton (B)
Phil Taylor v Co Stompe (A)
Simon Whitlock v James Hubbard (C)
James Wade v Arron Monk (D)
Sunday November 11
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
Groups E-H First Games
Paul Nicholson v Brendan Dolan (F)
Andy Hamilton v Barrie Bates (F)
Terry Jenkins v Wesley Harms (G)
Raymond van Barneveld v Mark Walsh (H)
Adrian Lewis v Tony O'Shea (E)
Gary Anderson v John Part (E)
Christian Kist v Wayne Jones (H)
Wes Newton v Martin Phillips (G)
The order of games for all sessions below will be announced at www.pdc.tv throughout the event.
Evening Session - 7pm-11pm
Groups A-D Second Games
The winners of Saturday's games will play each other, and the losers will play each other.
Monday November 12
7pm-11pm
Groups E-H Second Games
The winners of Sunday afternoon's games will play each other, and the losers will play each other.
Tuesday November 13
7pm-11pm
Groups A-D Final Games
Wednesday November 14
7pm-11pm
Groups E-H Final Games
Thursday November 15
7pm-11pm
Second Round
Winner A v Runner-Up B
Winner B v Runner-Up A
Winner C v Runner-Up D
Winner D v Runner-Up C
Friday November 16
7pm-11pm
Second Round
Winner E v Runner-Up F
Winner F v Runner-Up E
Winner G v Runner-Up H
Winner H v Runner-Up G
Saturday November 17
Afternoon Session - 1pm-5pm
2x Quarter-Finals
Evening Session - 7pm-11pm
2x Quarter-Finals
Sunday November 18
Afternoon Session - 1pm-5pm
Semi-Finals
Evening Session - 7pm-9pm
Final
Format
| Group Stage | Best of nine legs |
| Second Round | Best of 19 legs |
| Quarter-Finals | Best of 31 legs |
| Semi-Finals | Best of 31 legs |
| Final | Best of 31 legs |
Prize Fund
| Winner | £100,000 |
| Runner-Up | £50,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £25,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £15,000 |
| Second Round Losers | £7,500 |
| Group Winners Bonus | £2,500 |
| Third Place in Group | £5,000 |
| Fourth Place in Group | £2,500 |
| Total | £400,000 |
Group Stage Format
* The First Round will be a round-robin stage where the 32 players are drawn into eight groups of four players.
* Players will play three First Round games. The second set of matches will see the two winners from the first games meet each other, and the two losers also play 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, with the winner being the first player to win five legs. There will be no Tie-Break.
* After the First Round has been completed, 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, the 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 there be a three-way points tie for first place in any group, then leg difference will be the first deciding factor as to which players progress to the next stage. If there are clear leg differences between each of the three players, then those leg differences will determine the final places in the group.
If one player has superior leg difference to the other two players who have identical leg differences, then the player with superior leg difference will be deemed to have won the group. In this instance, the two players who are tied for second and third places will play a 'Nine-Dart Shoot-Out' following the completion of all group matches to determine the final order of the group, with the player having the highest aggregate score over nine darts being deemed to have finished second in the group.
Should a three-way points tie for first place in any group result in two players having identical superior leg differences to the third player, then those two players will progress to the next stage, with the winner of the group being deemed to be the player who won the group match between the two.
Should a three-way points tie for first place in any group result in all three players having identical leg differences, then all three players will contest a 'Nine-Dart Shoot-Out' as detailed above.
* In the event a 'Nine-Dart Shoot-Out' finishes level between two or three 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 their three darts.
* Should a three-way points tie for second place occur in any group, then the procedures above will be used to determine the second, third and fourth placed finishers.
* From the Second Round onwards, the tournament will be in a knockout format. There will be no tie-break rule employed in any match.