Cam Crabtree Grand Slam of Darts 2026: Group K
Cam Crabtree arrives at the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts 2026 as one of the most talked-about young players in the field, and the cam crabtree grand slam of darts 2026 campaign begins with a genuine test. The 23-year-old, nicknamed “Shazam”, opens his Group K challenge against James Wade in the Saturday evening session on 14 November. Within the space of about six weeks, he has beaten both Luke Littler and Luke Humphries on the floor. For a player in only his second year as a Tour Card holder, that is form that turns a group-stage appearance into a story worth following in Wolverhampton.
On this page
- Cam Crabtree Grand Slam of Darts 2026: Group K at a Glance
- Who Is Cam Crabtree?
- Beating Both Lukes in Six Weeks
- A Debut to Remember in 2025
- Opening Match: James Wade v Cam Crabtree
- The World Youth Championship Final Still to Come
- A Season That Needs a Strong Finish
- How to Follow Cam Crabtree at the Grand Slam
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
This is not Crabtree’s first time on the Grand Slam stage. He made his debut at the event in 2025 and marked it by beating Jonny Clayton. Now he returns with a bigger reputation, in a group that will not allow a slow start: only the winner of each group advances, so every leg matters. He also qualified for this Grand Slam through his World Youth Championship exploits, and the final of that event still lies ahead of him, on 29 November at Butlin’s Minehead.
Cam Crabtree Grand Slam of Darts 2026: Group K at a Glance
The 2026 Grand Slam brings 48 players together at WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton from 14 to 22 November. The players are split into 16 groups of three, and only the group winner advances. Group-stage matches are played over the best of nine legs, so there is very little room to settle in, and a player who loses the opening match is immediately under pressure.
| Detail | Cam Crabtree at the Grand Slam 2026 |
|---|---|
| Player | Cam Crabtree, 23, nicknamed “Shazam” |
| Group | Group K, with James Wade and Ricky Evans |
| Opening match | James Wade v Cam Crabtree, Saturday 14 November, evening session (7pm GMT) |
| Venue | WV Active Aldersley, Wolverhampton |
| Dates | 14–22 November 2026 |
| Format | 48 players, 16 groups of three, only the group winner advances; group stage best of nine legs |
| Prize fund | £1 million |
| Broadcast | Sky Sports in the UK, DAZN and Viaplay, and PDCTV |
| How he qualified | Through his World Youth Championship exploits |
For the full picture of every group in the tournament, see the Grand Slam of Darts 2026 groups guide, and for session times and the running order, the Grand Slam of Darts 2026 schedule has the details.
Who Is Cam Crabtree?
Cam Crabtree is 23 years old and nicknamed “Shazam”. He is a former Development Tour champion, and he is now in his second year as a Tour Card holder on the PDC circuit. The Development Tour is where many of the sport’s brightest young players first learn to win regularly, and a title there is a strong marker of a player who can handle pressure and produce consistent scoring.
His 2025 season gave him a platform to build on. He reached a Players Championship semi-final last July, added two ProTour quarter-finals in 2025, and finished inside the top 40 of the Players Championship rankings in 2025. The 2026 season, by his own honest admission, has been less consistent, and he narrowly missed qualification for the 2026 Players Championship Finals, which makes the Grand Slam even more important as a stage for him to respond on.
Beating Both Lukes in Six Weeks
The headline around Crabtree heading into the Grand Slam is a remarkable one. A PDC story published on 11 November 2026 reported that Crabtree has beaten both Luke Littler and Luke Humphries within about six weeks, on the floor. Those are the two biggest names in the sport, and beating both of them in such a short period is a statement that no young player makes by accident.
The win over Littler came in the Winmau World Youth Championship semi-final, and it was a match with real drama. Crabtree averaged almost 98 in a last-leg epic, defying Littler finishes of 164 and 117 along the way. An average of almost 98 in a deciding leg against Littler, while his opponent is producing finishes of that quality, tells its own story about Crabtree’s scoring power and his nerve.
Crabtree’s own reaction captured the scale of what he had done. “I’ve now beaten both of the Lukes in the space of about six weeks!” he said. The next step, as he sees it, is to take that floor form onto the stage. “Having beaten them on the floor, now I just need to take that to the stage,” he said, and the Grand Slam is exactly the place to try to do it. Floor events are played away from the television cameras, while stage events bring the lights, the crowd and the sense that every dart is being watched. For more on the player he beat in that semi-final, read the Luke Littler Grand Slam of Darts 2026 preview.
A Debut to Remember in 2025
Crabtree is not walking into the unknown at the Grand Slam. He made his debut at the event in 2025, and he made it count by beating Jonny Clayton, an experienced player and former Premier League champion who has won major titles. Beating a player of that standing on a Grand Slam debut was a significant result in its own right.
Crabtree remembers the occasion clearly. “It was surreal making my debut here. Jonny is amazing, so to beat a player of his calibre in the way that I did was really impressive for me,” he said. That experience should help him this time: he knows the venue, he knows the format, and he knows what it feels like to win on this stage. With only the group winner advancing, that familiarity could be valuable in a short best-of-nine-legs format where a slow start is hard to recover from.
Opening Match: James Wade v Cam Crabtree
Crabtree’s Grand Slam begins with one of the toughest opening assignments in the draw. His first match is James Wade v Cam Crabtree, played in the Saturday 14 November evening session, which starts at 7pm GMT. Wade is the number seven seed for the event and a three-time runner-up at the Grand Slam, which means he knows this tournament and this venue as well as anyone in the field.
The third player in Group K is Ricky Evans, the 2025 quarter-finalist. That makes Group K a genuinely competitive group: a three-time runner-up, a quarter-finalist from last year, and a 23-year-old who has just beaten both Lukes. In a race to five legs, a fast start is crucial. Crabtree’s scoring power will be important, but so will his finishing, because against players of Wade’s and Evans’ experience, missed doubles at key moments can be punished quickly. A win in this opening match of the cam crabtree grand slam of darts 2026 campaign would open the whole group up for him.
The World Youth Championship Final Still to Come
Crabtree’s Grand Slam appearance is part of a bigger end to his year. He qualified for the Grand Slam through his World Youth Championship exploits, and the final of that event is still to be played. He will face Germany’s Jan Schmidt in the World Youth Championship final on 29 November 2026 at Butlin’s Minehead, during the Players Championship Finals weekend. A win would give Crabtree his first televised title and a place at the World Darts Championship, with a second World Championship appearance on the horizon at Alexandra Palace from 11 December 2026 to 3 January 2027.
The history of the World Youth Championship underlines how significant a win would be. Of the 13 players to have won the World Youth Championship, six have since claimed senior televised titles, and three have gone on to win the World Championship at Alexandra Palace. Past winners include Littler, Humphries, Gian van Veen, Josh Rock and Michael Smith, a list that shows how often this title leads to the top of the sport. For the full story, see the World Youth Championship final 2026 preview, and for what is on offer at each stage in Wolverhampton, the Grand Slam of Darts 2026 prize money guide has the breakdown.
A Season That Needs a Strong Finish
Crabtree has been honest about his 2026 season. Last year brought a Players Championship semi-final in July, two ProTour quarter-finals, and a finish inside the top 40 of the Players Championship rankings. This year has been less consistent, and he has not hidden from that. “It’s not been as good a season as last year. I’m under no illusions about that,” he said. But the calendar has given him a chance to respond, starting with the Grand Slam and the World Youth Championship final at the end of November. As he put it: “Now we will see if the back end of the year can turn it into a good year!”
How to Follow Cam Crabtree at the Grand Slam
Crabtree’s opening match against James Wade is in the Saturday 14 November evening session, starting at 7pm GMT, at WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton. The tournament runs from 14 to 22 November. The event is broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK, on DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV. Follow the cam crabtree grand slam of darts 2026 campaign from the first session: with Wade, Evans and Crabtree all capable of winning Group K, it should go down to the final legs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Cam Crabtree playing first at the Grand Slam of Darts 2026?
Cam Crabtree opens his Group K campaign against James Wade, the number seven seed and a three-time runner-up at the Grand Slam. The match is in the Saturday 14 November evening session, starting at 7pm GMT, at WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton.
Who else is in Cam Crabtree’s group at the Grand Slam 2026?
Group K also includes Ricky Evans, who reached the quarter-finals at the Grand Slam in 2025. Only the group winner advances to the knockout stage.
Has Cam Crabtree beaten Luke Littler and Luke Humphries?
Yes. A PDC story published on 11 November 2026 reported that Crabtree has beaten both Luke Littler and Luke Humphries within about six weeks, on the floor. He beat Littler in the Winmau World Youth Championship semi-final, averaging almost 98 in a last-leg epic, defying Littler finishes of 164 and 117.
When is the World Youth Championship final?
Cam Crabtree plays Germany’s Jan Schmidt in the World Youth Championship final on 29 November 2026 at Butlin’s Minehead, during the Players Championship Finals weekend. A win would give him his first televised title and a place at the World Darts Championship.
How did Cam Crabtree qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts 2026?
He qualified through his World Youth Championship exploits. He made his Grand Slam debut in 2025, beating Jonny Clayton, and he returns in 2026 as a former Development Tour champion in his second year as a Tour Card holder.
Conclusion
The cam crabtree grand slam of darts 2026 campaign is one of the most intriguing stories of the tournament’s opening days. A 23-year-old nicknamed “Shazam”, a former Development Tour champion in his second year as a Tour Card holder, walks into Group K having beaten both Luke Littler and Luke Humphries within about six weeks. His opening match against James Wade, the number seven seed and a three-time runner-up, is a proper test, and Ricky Evans, last year’s quarter-finalist, makes the group even tougher. But Crabtree has the form, the scoring power and the recent big-match experience to compete with anyone in the group. With the World Youth Championship final against Jan Schmidt on 29 November and a second World Championship appearance on the horizon, this Grand Slam is the start of a defining few weeks for Cam Crabtree.
