2018 World Matchplay

The 2018 BetVictor World Matchplay was the 25th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, from 21–29 July 2018.

2018 BetVictor World Matchplay
Tournament information
Dates21–29 July 2018
VenueWinter Gardens
LocationBlackpool
Country England
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatLegs
Prize fund£500,000
Winner's share£115,000
Nine-dart finish Gary Anderson
High checkout170 Joe Cullen (x2)
170 Peter Wright
Champion(s)
Gary Anderson
«2017 2019»

Phil Taylor was the defending champion, after defeating Peter Wright 18–8 in the 2017 final to claim his 16th World Matchplay title, but he retired following the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship final. For the first time, the winner of the tournament, (Gary Anderson) received the Phil Taylor Trophy, which was renamed in his honour in January 2018.[1]

Gary Anderson hit a nine dart finish in the fourth leg of his quarter-final match against Joe Cullen, which was the seventh nine-dart finish in the World Matchplay and the first since 2014. Anderson overcame Cullen 19–17, facing two match darts against him at 14–15 scoreline.

Anderson went on to win his first World Matchplay title, defeating Mensur Suljović, 21–19 after extra time in the longest final in the tournament's history.[2]

The first round match between Kim Huybrechts and John Henderson made a piece of World Matchplay history, as it was the first time that a match was won by a single leg since the tournament's inception in 1994. Huybrechts won the match 13–12 in a sudden-death leg, the first time the rule had been needed since it was introduced in 2013.

For the first time in World Matchplay history, no Englishmen progressed into the semi-finals, resulting in a first Matchplay final without an English player.

Prize money

The prize fund remained at £500,000, with the winner's earnings being £115,000. Gary Anderson received £45,000 for hitting a nine-dart finish in his quarter-final against Joe Cullen.

Position (no. of players) Prize Money
(Total: £500,000)
Winner (1) £115,000
Runner-Up (1) £55,000
Semi-finalists (2) £30,000
Quarter-finalists (4) £17,500
Second round (8) £11,000
First round (16) £7,000
Nine-dart finish (1) £45,000

Format

In previous stagings of the event all games had to be won by two clear legs with no sudden-death legs. However, after consulting the host broadcaster Sky Sports in 2013, the PDC decided that games will now only proceed for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie-break leg is required. For example, in a best of 19 legs first round match, if the score reaches 12–12 then the 25th leg will be the decider.

Qualification

The top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit as of 2 July 2018 were seeded for the tournament. The top 16 players on the ProTour Order of Merit not to have already qualified were unseeded.

The following players qualified for the tournament:

Draw
First round (best of 19 legs)
21–23 July
[3][4][5] 		Second round (best of 21 legs)
24–25 July
[6][7] 		Quarter-finals (best of 31 legs)
26–27 July
[8][9] 		Semi-finals (best of 33 legs)
28 July
[10] 		Final (best of 35 legs)
29 July
[11]
               
1 Michael van Gerwen 97.88 6
Jeffrey de Zwaan 94.42 10
Jeffrey de Zwaan 98.99 11
16 Adrian Lewis 103.86 9
16 Adrian Lewis 93.61 10
James Wilson 87.72 8
Jeffrey de Zwaan 103.22 16
8 Dave Chisnall 99.05 8
8 Dave Chisnall 94.09 10
Keegan Brown 76.62 4
8 Dave Chisnall 103.02 11
9 Michael Smith 98.11 8
9 Michael Smith 97.43 10
Jonny Clayton 84.06 6
Jeffrey de Zwaan 99.12 12
4 Gary Anderson 106.06 17
5 Daryl Gurney 89.19 12
Steve West 91.79 10
5 Daryl Gurney 87.69 3
Joe Cullen 99.65 11
12 Gerwyn Price 90.23 3
Joe Cullen 91.39 10
Joe Cullen 95.26 17
4 Gary Anderson 97.13 19
4 Gary Anderson 96.66 10
Stephen Bunting 86.21 7
4 Gary Anderson 104.17 11
13 Raymond van Barneveld 95.29 9
13 Raymond van Barneveld 90.67 10
Kyle Anderson 90.69 6
4 Gary Anderson 101.12 21
6 Mensur Suljović 104.43 19
2 Peter Wright 89.28 10
Jelle Klaasen 84.36 5
2 Peter Wright 105.60 11
15 Kim Huybrechts 96.16 5
15 Kim Huybrechts 94.17 13
John Henderson 91.00 12
2 Peter Wright 101.35 16
7 Simon Whitlock 96.14 5
7 Simon Whitlock 88.20 10
Richard North 80.40 2
7 Simon Whitlock 93.96 11
10 James Wade 90.88 7
10 James Wade 89.60 12
Jermaine Wattimena 87.63 10
2 Peter Wright 88.68 13
6 Mensur Suljović 90.16 17
6 Mensur Suljović 93.00 10
Steve Beaton 90.92 6
6 Mensur Suljović 97.21 11
11 Ian White 93.51 8
11 Ian White 92.58 10
Max Hopp 90.51 7
6 Mensur Suljović 98.03 16
14 Darren Webster 95.70 10
3 Rob Cross 98.58 10
Mervyn King 91.85 5
3 Rob Cross 98.81 8
14 Darren Webster 93.39 11
14 Darren Webster 91.95 10
Steve Lennon 91.00 6

Statistics
Player Eliminated Played Legs Won Legs Lost 100+ 140+ 180s High Checkout 3-dart Average Checkout Success
Gary Anderson Winner 5 78 64 169 96 52 152 100.88 36.45%
Mensur Suljović Final 5 73 58 173 108 35 151 97.16 40.56%
Jeffrey de Zwaan Semi-finals 4 49 40 106 68 23 140 99.12 42.86%
Peter Wright Semi-finals 4 50 32 108 73 11 170 88.68 37.14%
Dave Chisnall Quarter-finals 3 29 28 58 38 21 148 99.05 47.06%
Simon Whitlock Quarter-finals 3 26 25 58 26 15 132 96.14 38.46%
Darren Webster Quarter-finals 3 31 30 89 45 11 138 95.70 41.67%
Joe Cullen Quarter-finals 3 38 25 77 39 10 170 95.26 41.46%
Adrian Lewis Second round 2 19 19 44 16 6 121 103.86 40.91%
Rob Cross Second round 2 18 19 39 28 9 156 98.81 27.59%
Michael Smith Second round 2 22 20 35 24 14 110 98.11 40.00%
Kim Huybrechts Second round 2 16 23 40 27 12 156 96.16 33.33%
Raymond van Barneveld Second round 2 19 17 39 15 9 130 95.29 69.23%
Ian White Second round 2 18 18 44 22 12 154 93.51 50.00%
James Wade Second round 2 19 21 64 29 4 149 90.88 24.14%
Daryl Gurney Second round 2 15 21 52 16 4 100 87.69 25.00%
Michael van Gerwen First round 1 6 10 16 8 6 100 97.88 35.29%
Mervyn King First round 1 5 10 15 9 5 72 91.85 41.67%
Steve West First round 1 10 12 23 18 6 108 91.79 31.25%
John Henderson First round 1 12 13 30 13 3 114 91.00 52.17%
Steve Lennon First round 1 6 10 24 10 2 124 91.00 37.50%
Steve Beaton First round 1 6 10 24 11 1 120 90.92 46.15%
Kyle Anderson First round 1 6 10 14 9 5 90 90.69 33.33%
Max Hopp First round 1 7 10 23 16 1 80 90.51 46.67%
Gerwyn Price First round 1 3 10 8 5 5 99 90.23 23.08%
James Wilson First round 1 8 10 19 12 2 86 87.72 44.44%
Jermaine Wattimena First round 1 10 12 24 16 1 113 87.63 29.41%
Stephen Bunting First round 1 7 10 8 11 3 110 86.21 46.67%
Jelle Klaasen First round 1 5 10 13 7 1 40 84.36 31.25%
Jonny Clayton First round 1 6 10 15 8 3 154 84.06 54.55%
Richard North First round 1 2 10 8 10 1 80 80.40 50.00%
Keegan Brown First round 1 4 10 14 3 1 109 76.62 33.33%

Source: Match reports from the draw.

References
  1. "World Matchplay: Phil Taylor beats Peter Wright to win 16th title". BBC Sport. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  2. "World Matchplay: Gary Anderson wins thrilling final". PDC. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  3. "BetVictor World Matchplay Day One". PDC. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  4. "BetVictor World Matchplay Day Two". PDC. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  5. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Three". PDC. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Four". PDC. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  7. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Five". PDC. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  8. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Six". PDC. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  9. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Seven". PDC. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  10. "BetVictor World Matchplay Semi-Finals". PDC. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  11. "BetVictor World Matchplay Final". PDC. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.