Rob Cross to Win Group C

• Cross was runner-up at the Grand Slam last year, only losing out to world no. 1 Luke Humphries.
• Voltage has a kind draw in a group with an out of form Peter Wright, world no. 45 Martin Lukeman and world no. 155 Leonard Gates.

  Gian van Veen Not to Qualify from Group H

• The Dutchman has won just 3 of his last 12.
• Stephen Bunting, Josh Rock and Wessel Nijman join him in Group H and boast better form coming in.

  Luke Humphries to Reach the Final

• The world champion has a gentle group and last 16 tie, an average performance level likely sees him through to the last 8 with comfort.
• He's won the Matchplay, and reached the final of the UK Open, Premier League and World Grand Prix this year. He looks a class act on the big stages and he's the reigning champion.

To win Group A: Luke Humphries There’s no doubt that the draw has been kind to the defending champion Luke Humphries. He’ll fully expect to defeat an out-of-sorts Rowby-John Rodriguez and an inconsistent Mickey Mansell and his toughest opponent will no doubt be James Wade. He defeated him in the semi-final of this event last year and he’d be favourite to come on top once again this year. To win Group B: Danny Noppert A tough group to fathom out and one where a case can be made for all four players. The seeded player in this section is the Dutchman Danny Noppert and it may pay to side with him, especially if he can defeat Beau Greaves in the opener. The former UK Open Champion arguably never gets the accolades he deserves but he’s ultra-consistent and he reached the Semi-Final of the most recent televised event, the European Championship. To win Group C: Rob Cross Last year's Runner-Up will be aiming to go one better and his group draw looks a nice one for him to take advantage of. Whilst Peter Wright may be seen as his main threat, Snakebite doesn’t appear the force of old, at least not as consistent. Cross is averaging nearly four points higher than Wright you sort of know what you are going to get from ‘Voltage’ which is probably the difference between him and his group rivals. To win Group D: Connor Scutt Perhaps a left-field selection to many but Scutt has just topped the Challenge Tour Order of Merit for 2024 to regain his tour card. He’s also reached a final on the Pro Tour this year so we know he can mix it with the best. Dave Chisnall is the seed in this section but is inconsistent as 12 first round exits in Players Championship events this year demonstrate. Ross Smith is probably not in the same form he was late last year and Ritchie Edhouse needs to show he can back up his European Championship success. In arguably the toughest group to call. Take a leap of faith on Connor Scutt. To win Group E: Mike De Decker The recent World Grand Prix champion was superb in claiming that major title and it’s no shock that win came along eventually as he’d already won a Players Championship event in August. It was a glittering roll of honour he defeated to win the Grand Prix so it is hard to argue that it was a fluke. He’s backed this up with numerous ton-plus average performances since and his opponents will hold no fear for him in this group. To win Group F: Luke Littler Another player who will be pleased with his draw. He’s unseeded on this occasion for his debut in this event, with that honour falling to the UK Open Champion, Dimitri van den Bergh. The Belgian has been very hard to work out this year and given what we’ve seen from him of late, Littler will fancy his chances of proving too good for him overall. The other two players in this section, Keane Barry and Lourence Ilagan would need to raise their game to trouble ‘The Nuke’ so he’s a strong fancy to advance as group winner. To win Group G: Gary Anderson A mouth-watering group in prospect here as Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen have been drawn against each other in Group G. We believe the winner of their encounter will top the group and we fancy the ‘Flying Scotsman’ to emerge victorious. He recently walloped MVG 10-4 in the European Championship, has been much more consistent of the two and has been playing to the higher standard throughout 2024. To win Group H: Stephen Bunting Another stacked group and one of the more difficult groups to call but it could pay to side with experience over youth and go for ‘The Bullet’ to prevail. In this group he faces three precocious talents in Josh Rock, Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman. Whilst those three seem not to be too bothered by their relative inexperience, Bunting has enjoyed a resurgence over the past 18 months since he increased the weight of his dart. He’s adored by the crowd and this could prove pivotal and give him the edge if push comes to shove at the business end of matches.

Mickey Mansell to fail to qualify from Group A: Mansell knocked out Gerwyn Price in the qualifier to reach this event but he hadn’t been in particularly good form prior to this. Whilst he’ll fancy his chances of beating Rowby-John Rodrigiuez it’s likely that he’s going have to pick up a win against either James Wade or Luke Humphries to advance to the knockouts. Unfortunately given the form they are both in, it’s hard to envisage him doing that. Cameron Menzies to fail to qualify from Group B: Menzies recently claimed a maiden Players Championship floor event success and followed this by coming through the qualifier which included a victory over Nathan Aspinall. His form in the big, televised events needs improving, however. He was whitewashed in the World Grand Prix by Dave Chisnall and was devastated as a result. It’s a difficult group for him to come through. Peter Wright to fail to qualify from Group C: The lesser darts followers reading this selection may be a bit surprised to see Snakebite included here but on the whole, it’s been 18 months to forget for Wright. He’s struggled with consistency and his successes have come out the blue. Rob Cross will be fancied to fill the top spot and we think Martin Lukeman can do enough to pip him to second place. Lukeman averaged 100+ in all four of his matches in the qualifier and if he replicates this standard again, Wright will face a huge battle to advance. Ross Smith to fail to qualify from Group D: Arguably the toughest group of all to fathom out and Ross Smith, who came through the qualifier to feature here has been hit and miss of late. He’s without a 100+ average in any of his last 11 matches and is up against two in-form players in recent European Championship winner, Ritchie Edhouse and Challenge Tour topper for 2024 Connor Scutt. When you throw in Dave Chisnall to the mix, it’s hard to predict exactly what will happen here. Michael Smith to fail to qualify from Group E: This looks a three-way contest between Michael Smith, Mike de Decker and Jermaine Wattimena to advance from this group. Mike de Decker is the recent World Grand Prix champion and Jermaine Wattimena was a recent finalist in the European Championship and both these players boast a better win percentage this season at 68% and 62% respectively than Smith at 61%. The pressure is on ‘Bully Boy’ too who is defending a lot of money at the end of this season and an early exit could prove catastrophic for him here. Keane Barry to fail to qualify from Group F: Luke Littler is the warm favourite to top this group and some people will fancy Keane Barry to pip an out-of-sorts Dimitri van den Bergh to second spot but we think he could finish bottom here. The Belgian is a big stage player so you can often forgive his sub-standard floor form and if these two end up facing off in the group decider to advance we’d favour the van den Bergh to end the Irishman’s hopes of advancing to the knockouts. Michael van Gerwen to fail to qualify from Group G: An eye-catching selection no doubt but in a group that also features Gary Anderson, the loser in that tussle could be vulnerable to Ryan Joyce becoming a party pooper and eliminating them early. MVG is not the devastating player of yesteryear but is certainly capable of providing glimpses of that form from time to time. He was whitewashed by Daryl Gurney in the Grand Prix, however, and if there’s one player capable of taking advantage of any weaknesses it’s relentless Ryan Joyce. This would no doubt be the biggest talking point of the group stages if it comes off. Gian van Veen to fail to qualify from Group H: Another difficult group to predict with any certainty but of the four players involved here we’d have to side with Gian van Veen being vulnerable as he’s the most out of form. Bunting reached the final of Players Championship 29, the most recent event he played, Josh Rock was the winner of Players Championship 30 and Wessel Nijman has won 23 of his 29 matches in October. The youngster on the other hand has won just three of his last 12 games.