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What Happened: World Grand Prix Darts 2023

World Grand Prix Darts 2023
September 30, 2024

What Happened: World Grand Prix Darts 2023

The 2023 the World Grand Prix Darts as the 26th edition and was held from 2-8 October 2023 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England.

Michael van Gerwen was looking to defend his title after beating Nathan Aspinall back in the 2022 final.

Did ‘Mighty Mike’ add to his impressive trophy haul or did a new challenger take the crown? Read the below to find out.

World Grand Prix of Darts World Grand Prix of Darts

Who qualified for the World Grand Prix Darts in 2023?

The 2023 World Grand Prix consisted of 32 players and to qualify you needed to either be in the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit or top 16 on the ProTour Order of Merit.

The top eight players from the PDC Order of Merit were seeded for the tournament. Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross were seeded 5th and 8th respectively through the PDC Order of Merit.

Dimitri Van den Bergh was 16th in the PDC Order of Merit at the time. Stephen Bunting, Gabriel Clemens, Raymond van Barneveld and Chris Dobey make up the other Target Darts players who qualified by PDC ProTour Qualifiers.

Here are the 32 qualified participants for the 2023 World Grand Prix tournament.

PDC Order of MeritPDC ProTour Qualifiers
Michael SmithJosh Rock
Michael van GerwenKrzysztof Ratajski
Peter WrightMartin Schindler
Gerwyn PriceStephen Bunting
Nathan AspinallRoss Smith
Luke HumphriesAndrew Gilding
Jonny ClaytonJose de Sousa
Rob CrossGary Anderson
Danny NoppertMike De Decker
Dirk van DuijvenbodeDaryl Gurney
Joe CullenGabriel Clemens
Dave ChisnallBrendan Dolan
Damon HetaRaymond van Barneveld
Dimitri Van den BerghChris Dobey
Ryan SearleCallan Rydz
James WadeLuke Woodhouse

World Grand Prix Darts 2023 StageWorld Grand Prix Darts 2023 Stage

Image by Ed Mullholland/PDC

What were the Results?

The opening round of the tournament saw a few big names leave the tournament earlier than expected, with the 2022 finalist Nathan Aspinall losing 2-1 in sets to Stephen Bunting & Rob Cross losing 2-1 to Andrew Gilding.

2017 winner Daryl Gurney and 2021 winner Jonny Clayton were both on the receiving ends of 2-0 defeats and were dumped out early in the tournament.

Michael Smith had the highest average in round one, averaging 96.14 against Callan Rydz and beating Rydz 2-0.

Round 2 saw the 2022 champion Michael van Gerwen fall to Chris Dobey. MvG was 2-1 up in sets but Chris Dobey thought his way back to win the contest 3-2. Van Gerwen has won this major five times, but ‘Hollywood’ really put on a show to win 3-2.

Round 1 Results

Player OneScorePlayer Two
Dirk van Duijvenbode1-2Brendan Dolan
Jose de Sousa1-2Gary Anderson
Krzysztof Ratajski2-1James Wade
Martin Schindler2-1Raymond van Barneveld
Nathan Aspinall1-2Stephen Bunting
Gerwyn Price2-0Danny Noppert
Michael Smith2-0Callan Rydz
Rob Cross1-2Andrew Gilding
Joe Cullen2-0Mike De Decker
Dave Chisnall0-2Luke Woodhouse
Damon Heta1-2Ryan Searle
Dimitri Van den Bergh0-2Chris Dobey
Peter Wright2-0Gabriel Clemens
Michael van Gerwen2-0Josh Rock
Jonny Clayton0-2Ross Smith
Luke Humphries2-0Daryl Gurney

Round 2 Results

Player OneScorePlayer Two
Andrew Gilding3-2Gary Anderson
Stephen Bunting2-3Martin Schindler
Gerwyn Price3-0Krzysztof Ratajski
Michael Smith3-0Brendan Dolan
Luke Humphries3-0Luke Woodhouse
Peter Wright3-1Ryan Searle
Michael van Gerwen2-3Chris Dobey
Ross Smith1-3Joe Cullen

Quarter and Semi-Final Results?

Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price continued their impressive form in the quarterfinals winning 3-0 against Andrew Gilding & Martin Schindler respectively.

‘Bully Boy’ and ‘Ice Man’ didn’t drop a single set until the semi-finals when the 2020 winner Gerwyn Price beat ‘Bully Boy’ 4-2 in the semi-finals.

Luke Humphries had a scare when facing Peter Wright. Wright was 2-1 up in the quarter-final but Humphries pulled his way back into the contest to win 3-2. Joe Cullen beat Chris Dobey 3-2 in the quarterfinals and then went on to face ‘Cool Hand’ who convincingly beat Joe Cullen 4-0.

Quarter-final Results

Player OneScorePlayer Two
Gerwyn Price3-0Martin Schindler
Michael Smith3-0Andrew Gilding
Peter Wright2-3Luke Humphries
Chris Dobey2-3Joe Cullen

Semi-final Results

Player OneScorePlayer Two
Michael Smith2-4Gerwyn Price
Joe Cullen0-4Luke Humphries

A closer look at the winner: Luke Humphries claims his first major title

The last time Luke Humphries made a major final was back in 2021 in the UK Open and was getting the reputation of a bridesmaid with five semi-finals in his last seven televised events before the 2023 World Grand Prix.

The sixth seed, Humphries conceded just two sets in reaching his maiden double-start final, overcoming the likes of 2017 winner Daryl Gurney and two-time World Champion Peter Wright en route.

‘Cool Hand’ then confidently removed Joe Cullen 4-0 making it to the final, where he would face the 2020 champion Gerwyn Price.

What happened in the final?

The final was set with the 2020 champion Gerwyn Price facing off against Luke Humphries, who was looking to claim his maiden major title.

The 2020 champion struck first winning the first set 3-0 and taking a 1-0 lead but it was the former World Youth Champion Humphries, who took the game away from Price with ‘Cool Hand’ taking nine of the next 11 legs in a three-set surge which turned the completion of the game on its head.

The fifth set saw Price fight back to win it 3-2 on a deciding leg despite ‘Cool Hand’ opening the fifth set with a 170 checkout, making the game 3-2 in favour of Luke Humphries.

Price led 1-0 and 2-1 in the seventh set, but Humphries levelled and then took out an unforgettable 138 checkout to seal the title.

Learn more about the 2024 World Grand Prix.

After his maiden win, Luke Humphries has taken over the game of darts but will he be able to defend his maiden title? Read our preview on the 2024 World Grand Prix.



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