Wolverhampton in November is usually just cold and damp. But inside the Aldersley Leisure Village last year, things got heated. Like, seriously heated. If you followed the Grand Slam of Darts 2024, you already know we witnessed something that felt less like a sports tournament and more like a changing of the guard. It was the week Luke Littler decided that "potential" was a boring word and replaced it with "trophy."
Honestly, the way he dismantled the field was kind of terrifying.
The Nuke Takes No Prisoners
Before the tournament even started, everyone was talking about whether the 17-year-old could handle the grind of a long-format ranking major. He'd won the Premier League. He'd won on the World Series. But he hadn't bagged a big ranked TV title yet.
He didn't just bag it. He basically held the tournament hostage.
Littler breezed through Group F, dropping only four legs across three matches. He looked bored. Then the knockout stages hit, and things got real. In the Round of 16, he ran into Mike De Decker, who was fresh off a World Grand Prix win. De Decker actually had him on the ropes, leading 8-4. Littler looked like he might finally be human.
Nope.
He clawed back to win 10-9, surviving a match dart in the process. It was a wake-up call. From that moment on, "The Nuke" was basically a glitch in the matrix. He destroyed Jermaine Wattimena 16-2 in the quarters. 16 to 2. At this level, that’s not supposed to happen.
That Semi-Final Against Gary Anderson
If you missed the semi-final against Gary Anderson, you missed the match of the year. Period.
It was the master versus the apprentice, and for a long time, the master was winning. Anderson was playing vintage darts, at one point leading 13-9. He was hitting everything—164 checkouts, 142s, the works. The crowd was ready for a fairytale Scotsman victory.
But Littler has this weird gear he shifts into where he just stops missing 180s. He hit 16 maximums in that game alone. He dragged it back to 14-14, then 15-15, and in the deciding leg, he was just too clinical. Anderson averaged over 100 and lost. That tells you everything you need to know about the level Littler was producing.
The Final: A 16-3 Destruction
Poor Martin Lukeman. "Smash" had the week of his life, reaching his first major televised final as a qualifier. He beat Mickey Mansell 16-12 in the other semi-final and was guaranteed £70,000 regardless of the result.
The final started okay for him. He was 2-0 up.
Then the lights went out.
Littler won 15 legs in a row. It was a demolition. Lukeman eventually won a third leg to make it 15-3, and he celebrated like he’d won the lottery, milking the applause from the Wolverhampton crowd. It was a great bit of showmanship in a match that was already over. Littler ended it 16-3 with a 107.08 average.
The kid won the Eric Bristow Trophy, pocketed £150,000, and jumped to world number five in less than a year.
Grand Slam of Darts 2024: The Stats That Matter
People love to argue about who the "best" is, but the numbers from this week don't lie.
- Luke Littler's Final Average: 107.08
- Total 180s for Littler: 60 (a tournament record)
- Highest Checkout: 170 (shared by Danny Noppert and Stephen Bunting)
- The Prize Money: Total fund of £650,000
One thing people often get wrong is thinking this was all about Littler. While he dominated the headlines, we saw some huge collapses too. Luke Humphries, the world number one at the time, didn't even make it out of the groups. He lost to James Wade and Rowby-John Rodriguez. It was a reminder that in the Grand Slam format, if you have one bad afternoon, you're on the train home.
Why This Tournament Changed Everything
The Grand Slam of Darts 2024 wasn't just another date on the PDC calendar. It was the moment Littler proved his floor is higher than most people's ceiling. He became only the third player ever to average over 100 in every single match of a Grand Slam.
It also changed the rankings. That £150,000 win was the catalyst for his charge toward the world number one spot, which he eventually grabbed in 2025.
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For the fans, it was a bit of a bittersweet week. We saw legends like Gary Anderson prove they’ve still got the magic, but we also saw the terrifying efficiency of the new generation. The "Wolverhampton walk" is a tough one, but Littler made it look like a stroll in the park.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to understand why the 2024 season was so pivotal, you need to look at the replays of the Littler vs. Anderson semi-final. It's essentially a masterclass in modern power-scoring. Also, keep an eye on the 2026 calendar; with the field expanding to 48 players, the group stage chaos we saw in 2024—where big names like Humphries and Michael van Gerwen struggled—is only going to get more unpredictable.
Check the PDC Order of Merit frequently if you're betting or following closely. The prize money from 2024 is still "defending" on the rankings for some players, meaning their positions will be under massive pressure when the 2026 cycle hits those same dates.