The 2026 Grand Slam of Darts gets under way on Saturday, as another of the Professional Darts Corporation's (PDC) major titles is set to be won in Wolverhampton.

This edition is bigger than ever, with 48 players taking part, and unlike most of darts' major tournaments, the players are split into groups in the initial phase, rather than a straight knockout format.

Each player will face two opponents in their group, with only the group winner progressing into the last 16.

The rest of the competition is a straight knockout format.

Luke Littler is the defending champion following a 16-11 victory over Luke Humphries in the 2025 final to become world number one for the first time.

Littler faces a tough start, with Beau Greaves his opponent on the opening evening, and Neils Zonneveld, who beat Littler in their only previous meeting, completing the group.

When is the Grand Slam of Darts?

The tournament lasts for nine days from Saturday, 14 November to Sunday, 22 November.

• Group stage (14-17 November) - 48 matches

• Second round (18-19 November) - eight matches

• Quarter-finals (20-21 November)

• Semi-finals (22 November)

• Final (22 November)

What is the format?

In the group stage, the format is best of nine legs, or first to five legs.

In the initial phase, two points are awarded for a win, with the group winner progressing to the last 16. In case of players being level on points at the end of the group phase, the following tie-breakers apply:

• Total Leg Difference

• Total Legs Won

• Total Legs Won Against Throw

• Highest Total Tournament Average (to two decimal places)

• Highest Winning Match Average (to two decimal places)

• A play-off - nine-dart leg

Second-round matches are a best-of-19 format, or first to 10 legs.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are best of 31 legs, or first to 16 legs.

Who is playing and how did they qualify?

With the tournament expanded, a new set of qualification rules have been put in place.

Up to 24 players could qualify from reaching a major PDC televised final in the past 12 months, but only nine ended up qualifying via that route, partly because of the dominance Littler has shown.

Ten players reached Wolverhampton from the PDC youth, development and challenge tours, the Women's Matchplay and Women's Series and championships from across the globe.

Six more secured places through the European Tour, while 13 qualified with a Players Championship win.

The final 10 spots, which include ninth seed Stephen Bunting, were claimed in a PDC tour card holder qualifying event.

From there, the top-16 ranked players in the PDC's order of merit were seeded and filled pot one. The next 16 went into pot two and the final 16 made up pot three. One player from each pot was then allocated to a group.

Grand Slam of Darts groups, order of play & results

Afternoon sessions start at 13:00 GMT, with evening sessions at 19:00 (19:30 on 15).

Luke Littler (1), Niels Zonneveld, Beau Greaves

Luke Littler v Beau Greaves

Neils Zonneveld v Saturday's losing player

Neils Zonneveld v Saturday's winning player

Jermaine Wattimena (16), Alan Soutar, Lisa Ashton

Jermaine Wattimena v Lisa Ashton

Alan Soutar v Saturday's losing player

Alan Soutar v Saturday's winning player

Josh Rock (8), Kevin Doets, Tommy Morris

Josh Rock v Tommy Morris

Kevin Doets v Saturday's losing player

Kevin Doets v Saturday's winning player

Stephen Bunting (9), Cameron Menzies, Raymond Smith

Stephen Bunting v Raymond Smith

Cameron Menzies v Saturday's losing player

Cameron Menzies v Saturday's winning player

Gerwyn Price (4), Sebastian Bialecki, Joe Hunt

Gerwyn Price v Joe Hunt

Sebastian Bialecki v Saturday's losing player

Sebastian Bialecki v Saturday's winning player

Ryan Searle (13), Andrew Gilding, Charlie Manby

Ryan Searle v Charlie Manby

Andrew Gilding v Saturday's losing player

Andrew Gilding v Saturday's winning player

Jonny Clayton (5), Rob Cross, Anton Ostlund

Jonny Clayton v Anton Ostlund

Rob Cross v Saturday's losing player

Rob Cross v Saturday's winning player

Wessel Nijman (12), Niko Springer, Adam Sevada

Wessel Nijman v Adam Sevada

Niko Springer v Saturday's losing player

Niko Springer v Saturday's winning player

Luke Humphries (2), Joe Cullen, Paolo Nebrida

Luke Humphries v Paolo Nebrida

Joe Cullen v Saturday's losing player

Joe Cullen v Saturday's winning player

Luke Woodhouse (15), Krzysztof Ratajski, Tom Sykes

Luke Woodhouse v Tom Sykes

Krzysztof Ratajski v Saturday's losing player

Krzysztof Ratajski v Saturday's winning player

James Wade (7), Ricky Evans, Cam Crabtree

James Wade v Cam Crabtree

Ricky Evans v Saturday's losing player

Ricky Evans v Saturday's winning player

Michael van Gerwen (10), Jeffrey de Graaf, Henry Coates

Michael van Gerwen v Henry Coates

Jeffrey de Graaf v Saturday's losing player

Jeffrey de Graaf v Saturday's winning player

Gian van Veen (3), Bradley Brooks, Carl Sneyd

Gian van Veen v Carl Sneyd

Bradley Brooks v Saturday's losing player

Bradley Brooks v Saturday's winning player

Chris Dobey (14), Martin Schindler, Jan Schmidt

Chris Dobey v Jan Schmidt

Martin Schindler v Saturday's losing player

Martin Schindler v Saturday's winning player

Ross Smith (6), Gabriel Clemens, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez

Ross Smith v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez

Gabriel Clemens v Saturday's losing player

Gabriel Clemens v Saturday's winning player

Nathan Aspinall (11), Karel Sedlacek, Maik Kuivenhoven

Nathan Aspinall v Maik Kuivenhoven

Karel Sedlacek v Saturday's losing player

Karel Sedlacek v Saturday's winning player

Four round two matches

Winner Group A v Winner Group B

Winner Group C v Winner Group D

Winner Group E v Winner Group F

Winner Group G v Winner Group H

Four round two matches

Winner Group I v Winner Group J

Winner Group K v Winner Group L

Winner Group M v Winner Group N

Winner Group O v Winner Group P

Two quarter-finals

Winner A/B v Winner C/D

Winner E/F v Winner G/H

Two quarter-finals

Winner I/J v Winner K/L

Winner M/N v Winner O/P

Afternoon Session (13:00 GMT)

Semi-finals

Evening Session (19:30 GMT)

Final

What is the prize money?

The prize money has increased from a pot of £650,000 to £1m for the 2026 edition.

It means the winner will now take home £200,000 - up from £150,000 last year.

Who are the previous Grand Slam of Darts winners?

Phil Taylor is the competition's most successful player, winning the Eric Bristow trophy six times.

Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen are the joint-second most successful players, with three wins each.

2025 - Luke Littler

2024 – Luke Littler

2023 – Luke Humphries

2022 – Michael Smith

2021 – Gerwyn Price

2020 – Jose de Sousa

2019 – Gerwyn Price

2018 – Gerwyn Price

2017 – Michael van Gerwen

2016 – Michael van Gerwen

2015 – Michael van Gerwen

2014 – Phil Taylor

2013 – Phil Taylor

2012 – Raymond van Barneveld

2011 – Phil Taylor

2010 – Scott Waites

2009 – Phil Taylor

2008 – Phil Taylor

2007 – Phil Taylor

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.