# 2008 World Grand Prix (darts)

The 2008 Sky Poker World Grand Prix was the eleventh World Grand Prix darts tournament held by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held from 6–12 October 2008 at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. The event featured a tournament record prize fund of £250,000 with £50,000 going to the winner.
Phil Taylor won his eighth Grand Prix title with a 6-2 victory over Raymond van Barneveld in the final watched by 355,000 viewers. James Wade was the defending champion, however lost 2-1 to Tony Eccles in the first round.

## Format

All legs were 501 points double-in double-out format. The first round games were best of three sets. Second round games were best of five sets, the quarter-finals best of seven sets, the semi-finals best of nine sets, and the final was best of eleven sets. All sets were best of five legs/first to three legs.

## Prize money

A tournament record prize fund of £250,000 was available to the participants, divided based on the following performances:
| Position (num. of players) | Position (num. of players) | Prize money (Total: £250,000) |
| Winner | (1) | £50,000 |
| Runner-Up | (1) | £25,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £14,500 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £10,000 |
| Second round losers | (8) | £6,750 |
| First round losers | (16) | £3,250 |
| Nine-dart finish | (0) | £15,000 |

## Qualification

The field of 32 players was mostly made up from the top sixteen players in the PDC Order of Merit on September 21, following the two Players Championship events at the Newport Center in Newport, Wales. The top eight from these rankings were also the seeded players. The remaining sixteen places went to the top twelve non-qualified players from the 2008 Players Championship Order of Merit, and then to the top four non-qualified residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland from the 2008 Players Championship Order of Merit who have competed in at least six Players Championship events.
| PDC Top 16 Phil Taylor (winner) Raymond van Barneveld (runner-up) James Wade (first round) John Part (quarter-finals) Terry Jenkins (semi-finals) Wayne Mardle (second round) Colin Lloyd (quarter-finals) Andy Hamilton (quarter-finals) Adrian Lewis (second round) Alan Tabern (first round) Roland Scholten (first round) Dennis Priestley (quarter-finals) Peter Manley (first round) Ronnie Baxter (first round) Colin Osborne (second round) Mervyn King (semi-finals) | PDPA Players Championship qualifiers Chris Mason (first round) Denis Ovens (first round) Robert Thornton (second round) Kevin Painter (second round) Mark Walsh (second round) Vincent van der Voort (first round) Wayne Jones (first round) Mark Dudbridge (first round) Andy Smith (first round) Tony Eccles (second round) Felix McBrearty (first round) Steve Beaton (first round) | Irish qualifiers Mick McGowan (first round) John MaGowan (first round) Brendan Dolan (first round) Jacko Barry (second round) |

## Draw

Draw and schedule of play was as follows:
| First round (best of 3 sets) 6–7 October | First round (best of 3 sets) 6–7 October | First round (best of 3 sets) 6–7 October | Second round (best of 5 sets) 8–9 October | Second round (best of 5 sets) 8–9 October | Second round (best of 5 sets) 8–9 October | Quarter-finals (best of 7 sets) 10 October | Quarter-finals (best of 7 sets) 10 October | Quarter-finals (best of 7 sets) 10 October | | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 11 October | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 11 October | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 11 October | | Final (best of 11 sets) 12 October | Final (best of 11 sets) 12 October | Final (best of 11 sets) 12 October |
| 1 | Phil Taylor 96.72 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ronnie Baxter 84.62 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ronnie Baxter 84.62 | 0 | 1 | Phil Taylor 100.20 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Colin Osborne 77.98 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | John MaGowan 78.47 | 1 | | Colin Osborne 77.98 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Colin Osborne 89.01 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Colin Osborne 89.01 | 2 | | | | 1 | Phil Taylor 98.60 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 8 | Andy Hamilton 91.35 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Andy Hamilton 85.09 | 2 | | | | | | | 8 | Andy Hamilton 91.35 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| | Andy Smith 86.36 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Andy Smith 86.36 | 1 | 8 | Andy Hamilton 85.10 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Robert Thornton 79.21 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robert Thornton 89.36 | 2 | | Robert Thornton 79.21 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Peter Manley 81.16 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Peter Manley 81.16 | 0 | | | | | | | | 1 | Phil Taylor 99.17 | 5 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Terry Jenkins 83.35 | 0 | | | | |
| 5 | Terry Jenkins 80.44 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Terry Jenkins 83.35 | 0 | | | | |
| | Mick McGowan 73.20 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mick McGowan 73.20 | 0 | 5 | Terry Jenkins 92.72 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Mark Walsh 79.71 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mark Walsh 85.84 | 2 | | Mark Walsh 79.71 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Steve Beaton 79.84 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Steve Beaton 79.84 | 1 | | | | 5 | Terry Jenkins 81.89 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | John Part 85.35 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | John Part 79.63 | 2 | | | | | | | 4 | John Part 85.35 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | Chris Mason 74.46 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Chris Mason 74.46 | 0 | 4 | John Part 80.47 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Jacko Barry 77.87 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jacko Barry 82.44 | 2 | | Jacko Barry 77.87 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brendan Dolan 79.53 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brendan Dolan 79.53 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Phil Taylor 97.81 | 6 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 90.42 | 2 |
| 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 93.00 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 90.42 | 2 |
| | Alan Tabern 88.06 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Alan Tabern 88.06 | 1 | 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 90.72 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Adrian Lewis 88.38 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Adrian Lewis 75.86 | 2 | | Adrian Lewis 88.38 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Roland Scholten 78.57 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Roland Scholten 78.57 | 1 | | | | 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 85.27 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 7 | Colin Lloyd 75.83 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Colin Lloyd 79.77 | 2 | | | | | | | 7 | Colin Lloyd 75.83 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| | Vincent van der Voort 77.07 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Vincent van der Voort 77.07 | 1 | 7 | Colin Lloyd 80.90 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Kevin Painter 80.57 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mark Dudbridge 74.08 | 0 | | Kevin Painter 80.57 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Kevin Painter 78.57 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Kevin Painter 78.57 | 2 | | | | | | | | 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 89.12 | 5 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | Mervyn King 73.18 | 0 | | | | |
| 6 | Wayne Mardle 83.36 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | Mervyn King 73.18 | 0 | | | | |
| | Felix McBrearty 71.07 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Felix McBrearty 71.07 | 0 | 6 | Wayne Mardle 77.11 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Dennis Priestley 78.52 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Dennis Priestley 81.87 | 2 | | Dennis Priestley 78.52 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Denis Ovens 80.29 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Denis Ovens 80.29 | 0 | | | | | Dennis Priestley 85.26 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Mervyn King 83.88 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | James Wade 80.71 | 1 | | | | | | | | Mervyn King 83.88 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | Tony Eccles 85.68 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Tony Eccles 85.68 | 2 | | Tony Eccles 84.10 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Mervyn King 83.34 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mervyn King 80.62 | 2 | | Mervyn King 83.34 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Wayne Jones 83.96 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Television coverage and sponsorship

The tournament was screened by Sky Sports.
The sponsorship for the tournament was Sky Bet who had sponsored the event since 2004, however one of its brands, Sky Poker, was the new title sponsor.