The PDC today announced a three-year partnership with Singha Beer as the new title sponsors of the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts, which will take place from November 8-16 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
The cross-code tournament sees 32 players from both the PDC and BDO/WDF systems come together under one roof to compete across nine days for the prestigious title.
The 2014 SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts will see 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor defending the title he claimed his Wolverhampton last November against a field including current PDC World Champion Michael van Gerwen and Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting.
Other competitors will include reigning UK Open champion Adrian Lewis, 2014 Premier League Darts champion Raymond van Barneveld – who took the Grand Slam of Darts title in 2012 – and the 2010 Wolverhampton winner, Scott Waites.
This year’s tournament will be sponsored by Singha Beer, the original Thai beer and leading lager brand who have also agreed a deal to be the Official Beer of the PDC until 2016.
The deal will see Singha Beer being exclusively available at the Wolves Civic throughout November’s event and at future tournaments throughout the next three years.
Jaturon Zane Himathongkom, International Sports Marketing Director at Singha Beer, said: “We are delighted to be a title sponsor for the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts and also an Official Beer partner of the PDC during 2014-2016.
“This is a fantastic event and also a splendid opportunity for us to be involved. I hope everyone will enjoy Singha Beer during the event.”
PDC Chairman Barry Hearn said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Singha Beer into the PDC family as our new sponsors for the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts and an Official Partner for the next three years.
“Their brand is recognised worldwide as a beer of leading quality, and with this sponsorship they’ll be associated with the leading players in world darts, including a host of World Champions and other major tournament winners.”
Hearn added: “This sponsorship is a further boost for the tournament as we prepare to welcome a record number of fans to the Wolves Civic throughout the nine days of play.
“With just under two months still to go until the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts kicks off, we’ve already sold more tickets at this stage than in the previous seven years of the event, showing the amazing appetite of darts fans for seeing the world’s greatest players in this unique tournament.”
The SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts features players who have qualified by virtue of reaching the final of major televised tournaments during a two-year period, as well as semi-finalists in previous Grand Slam of Darts events, the PDC World Championship and Lakeside Championship.
In addition, recent World Champions within the past five years are invited to compete alongside the PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion, while any remaining places are completed in the Wildcard Qualifier, which will be held in Wigan on Monday November 3.
The SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts initially sees the 32 players split into eight four-player groups for the round-robin first round, before the top two players from each group progress to the knockout phase from the last 16 onwards.
Won by Phil Taylor five times – including last year as he defeated Robert Thornton in the final – the tournament has also been won by Scott Waites and Raymond van Barneveld, and is broadcast live on Sky Sports as well as worldwide through the PDC’s broadcast partners in the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and across the Middle East
