In addition to 26 players from the PDC, six players from the competing darts association BDO were invited.
The game was played in eight groups of four, in each of which the top two qualified for the final round of the best 16 players.
The defending champion was the English record world champion Phil Taylor , who, however, lost 5:10 to the Dutchman Michael van Gerwen in the round of 16 .
In contrast to other tournaments, the qualification criteria were not based on rankings, but on victories, finals and semi-finals at the major PDC tournaments and the BDO World Championship in previous years. Due to three consecutive cancellations in 2007, 2008 and 2009, the PDC decided not to invite BDO world champion Martin Adams any more.
Group stage
The game was played in the best-of-nine- legs mode.