2008 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts Media Release
ADRIAN LEWIS and Red Dragon DartsAlan Tabern have claimed the final two places in the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts.
Lewis' run to the final of the PartyPoker.net European Championship on Sunday saw him earn automatic qualification for the tournament, held from November 15-23 at the Wolverhampton Civic.
The European Championship was the final tournament where players could win a place in the Grand Slam of Darts outright, with Phil Taylor's run to the final, where he defeated Lewis, meaning that Alan Tabern, the third placed player in the ITV Wildcard Qualifier, comes into the field.
"I'm delighted to have qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts and I can't wait to play in Wolverhampton," said Lewis.
"I really enjoyed last year's tournament and hopefully I can have a good run this year.
"I'm really pleased with my form at the moment, and reaching the final of the European Championship shows I'm playing well."
Tabern's qualification sweetened the blow of his quarter-final exit in the European Championship at the hands of Peter Manley - who missed out on a Grand Slam spot when he suffered a semi-final defeat to Lewis.
Tabern had won the third-fourth place play-off at the ITV Wildcard Qualifier in Scotland last month against Jamie Caven, with Lewis' qualification means that the Leicester player misses out on a Grand Slam spot.
"Obviously it was disappointing to lose to Peter Manley in Frankfurt, but if you'd said to me before the European Championship that I'd reach the quarter-finals and qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts anyway then I'd have snapped your hand off," said Tabern.
"You want to be in competitions like this and hopefully I can make an impact like Kevin McDine did last year as an ITV Wildcard Qualifier.
"It's a great tournament and I'm looking forward to experiencing it first-hand.
"ITV did a brilliant job with their coverage of the European Championship and it will be great exposure for me and more experience on the big stage."
The 32-player field includes the finalists of major televised darts tournaments over a two-year period, alongside the leading players from north America and Australia and Russia's Anastasia Dobromyslova, the Women's World Champion.
The draw for the 2008 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts will be made on Wednesday at the Wolverhampton Civic, with the 32 players drawn into eight four-man groups for the first round.
One player from each of the four pools below will be drawn into the eight groups for the round-robin phase of the tournament from Saturday-Tuesday, with the top two qualifying for the knockout second round.
* Tickets for the PartyPoker.com Pro-Celebrity Challenge on Friday November 14 and the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts from November 15-23 at the Wolverhampton Civic are still available on 0870 320 7000 or via wolvescivic.co.uk.
PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts Draw Groups Pool One Phil Taylor (Seeded 1) Raymond Van Barneveld (2) James Wade (3) Mark Webster (4) John Part (5) Gary Anderson (6) Terry Jenkins (7) Andy Hamilton (8)
Pool Two Mervyn King Adrian Lewis Colin Lloyd Wayne Mardle Kevin Painter Alan Tabern Robert Thornton Vincent van der Voort
Pool Three Darryl Fitton Andy Jenkins Gary Mawson Kevin McDine Wes Newton Denis Ovens Michael van Gerwen Simon Whitlock
Pool Four Jamie Caven Niels de Ruiter Anastasia Dobromyslova Colin McGarry Paul Nicholson Phill Nixon Kirk Shepherd Brian Woods Darin Young
2008 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts - Final Competitors 2007 Grand Slam of Darts Winner: Phil Taylor Runner-Up: Andy Hamilton Semi-Finalists: Kevin McDine, Gary Anderson
PDC Tournaments 2007 World Championship Winner: Raymond van Barneveld Runner-Up: (Phil Taylor) Semi-Finalists: Andy Jenkins, (Andy Hamilton)
2008 World Championship Winner: John Part Runner-Up: Kirk Shepherd Semi-Finalists: Kevin Painter, Wayne Mardle
2007 World Matchplay Winner: James Wade Runner-Up: Terry Jenkins
2008 World Matchplay Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: (James Wade)
2007 World Grand Prix Winner: (James Wade) Runner-Up: (Terry Jenkins)
2008 World Grand Prix Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: (Raymond van Barneveld)
2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic Winner: (Raymond van Barneveld) Runner-Up: (Terry Jenkins)
2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: (James Wade)
2007 UK Open Winner: (Raymond van Barneveld) Runner-Up: Vincent van der Voort
2008 UK Open Winner: (James Wade) Runner-Up: Gary Mawson
2007 US Open Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: (Raymond van Barneveld)
2008 US Open Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: Colin Lloyd
2007 Premier League Darts Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: (Terry Jenkins)
2008 Premier League Darts Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: (James Wade)
2007 German Darts Championship Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: Denis Ovens
2008 Championship League Darts Winner: (Phil Taylor)
2008 European Championship Winner: (Phil Taylor) Runner-Up: Adrian Lewis
BDO Tournaments 2007 World Championship Winner: Martin Adams (Declined Invitation) Runner-Up: Phill Nixon Semi-Finalists: Niels de Ruiter, Mervyn King
2008 World Championship Winner: Mark Webster Runner-Up: Simon Whitlock Semi-Finalists: (Martin Adams), Brian Woods
2006 World Masters Winner: Michael van Gerwen Runner-Up: (Martin Adams)
2007 World Masters Winner: Robert Thornton Runner-Up: Darryl Fitton
2007 International Darts League Winner: (Gary Anderson) Runner-Up: (Mark Webster)
2007 World Darts Trophy Winner: (Gary Anderson) Runner-Up: (Phil Taylor)
Further Qualifiers Winner of William Cross Pro-Am Order of Merit - Paul Nicholson Number one in 2008 PDC North American Order of Merit - Darin Young ITV Wildcard Qualifier Winner - Wes Newton Womens World Champion - Anastasia Dobromyslova ITV Wildcard Qualifier Second Place - Colin McGarry ITV Wildcard Qualifier Third Place - Alan Tabern
Date : 04-11-2008
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