Beginning his title defense, Humphries will face Masters champion Stephen Bunting, aiming to follow in the footsteps of Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen as the third player to retain the coveted crown. Monday’s opening night at the Mattioli Arena will feature eight first-round matchups, including the debut of teenage sensation Littler against fourth seed Rob Cross, and 2021 champion Jonny Clayton taking on newcomer Ritchie Edhouse. 2022 runner-up Nathan Aspinall will make his return to the big stage against Ryan Searle.
Raymond van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan, former finalists, will also be in action against German duo Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler respectively on a star-studded evening. Dutchman Gian van Veen will face world number ten Ross Smith in the evening’s finale, while Josh Rock and Ryan Joyce will go head-to-head in the tournament’s curtain-raiser. The first round concludes on Tuesday evening with six-time champion Van Gerwen facing off against 2017 winner Daryl Gurney.
Rivalries will be reignited as Michael Smith takes on Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price battles Dutch number two Danny Noppert, and two-time World Grand Prix winner James Wade squares off against 2018 runner-up Peter Wright. Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen will clash on the World Grand Prix stage for the second consecutive year. UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh will start his campaign against Luke Woodhouse, while fellow Belgian Mike De Decker will face Australian number one Damon Heta.
Two-time runner-up Dave Chisnall will kick off the show in Leicester on Tuesday, facing a tough test from in-form Cameron Menzies, one of five debutants in the 32-player field. Following the conclusion of the first round, the last 16 matches will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, with the quarter-finals scheduled for Friday. A change in the format this year will see the semi-finals on Saturday contested over the best of nine sets, leading up to the final on Sunday played over the best of 11 sets.
Fans can catch all the action of the BoyleSports World Grand Prix live on Sky Sports in the UK, as well as through the PDC’s broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay. The tournament will also be available to watch on PDCTV for subscribers outside of the UK, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
