Leicester to host World Grand Prix Darts with double start and finish

Leicester will host the World Grand Prix of Darts from Monday, October 6, to Sunday, October 12, as 32 of the Professional Darts Corporation's top players compete at the Mattioli Arena. The weeklong tournament features a distinctive double start, double finish format and concludes with an evening final on October 12.

Matches are played in sets, each set being best of five legs, and the overall match lengths increase as the event progresses. The first round is contested over best-of-three sets across the opening two evenings, the second round and quarterfinals move to best-of-five sets, the semifinals are longer affairs, and the final is scheduled as a best-of-11-sets contest. The draw comprises the 16 highest-ranked players on the PDC Order of Merit plus the 16 highest-ranked players from the most recent 12 months who had not already qualified.

Defending champion Mike De Decker returns to Leicester after his surprise victory last year. He is expected to face a field that includes current world number one Luke Humphries, rising star Luke Littler, former world champions Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price, and other established names such as Jonny Clayton, James Wade and Stephen...