World Matchplay (darts)

The World Matchplay, also known as the Betfred World Matchplay for sponsorship purposes,[1] is a professional darts tournament. It is played in a legs format, and is run by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Dimitri Van den Bergh is the current champion after winning the 2020 edition.

For the previous WDF tournament, see MFI World Matchplay.

World Matchplay
The Winter Gardens in Blackpool, where the tournament was held from 1994 to 2019.
Tournament information
VenueWinter Gardens (1994-2019)
Marshall Arena (2020)
LocationBlackpool, Lancashire (1994-2019)
Milton Keynes (2020)
CountryEngland
Established1994
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatLegs
Prize fund£700,000 (2019)
Month(s) PlayedJuly
Current champion(s)
Dimitri Van den Bergh

History

The World Matchplay has been played annually since 1994 in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The first ever winner was Larry Butler, who beat Dennis Priestley 16–12, and the current holder is Dimitri van den Bergh. It is regarded as the second biggest PDC Tournament, status shown by the fact the whole tournament was sold out within three days of the tickets being on sale.

The 1995 World Matchplay turned out to be Jocky Wilson's last appearance in a major televised event. Wilson had reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural tournament in 1994 and he beat Rod Harrington in the 1st round in 1995, but a 2nd round defeat against Nigel Justice was effectively the end of his career.

From 1994 to 2012, matches at the World Matchplay had to be won by two clear legs. For example, the first round was usually played over the first to 10 legs, but if the score reached 9–9, play continued until either player gained a two-leg lead. Starting with the 2013 World Matchplay, if a two leg-lead hadn't been established after six extra legs, then a sudden death leg is played, so sudden death would come into play in a first round match at 12–12.[2]

Over the course of the tournament's 26-year existence, there have been ten different winners: Phil Taylor (16), Rod Harrington (2), Michael van Gerwen (2), Gary Anderson (1), Larry Butler (1), Rob Cross (1), Peter Evison (1), Colin Lloyd (1) James Wade (1) and Dimitri van den Bergh (1). Dennis Priestley was also runner-up for three consecutive years.

From 2018 onwards, the World Matchplay champion will receive the Phil Taylor Trophy, as was announced by the PDC following the retirement of the sixteen-time winner of the tournament.[3]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the 2020 World Matchplay was held at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, behind closed doors.[4]

World Matchplay finals

The list of finals:[5]

Year Champion (average in final) Score Runner-up (average in final) Prize money Sponsor Venue
Total Champion Runner-up
1994 Larry Butler (90.72) 16–12 Dennis Priestley (91.59) £42,400 £10,000 £6,000 Proton Cars Winter Gardens, Blackpool
1995 Phil Taylor (90.72) 16–11 Dennis Priestley (87.63) Webster's
1996 Peter Evison (100.51) 16–14 Dennis Priestley (96.67) £46,000 £12,000 £7,000
1997 Phil Taylor (106.32) 16–11 Alan Warriner (98.42) £6,000
1998 Rod Harrington (95.03) 19–17 Ronnie Baxter (94.07) £58,000 £14,000 £7,000 PDC
1999 Rod Harrington (85.95) 19–17 Peter Manley (86.91)
2000 Phil Taylor (100.32) 18–12 Alan Warriner (97.14) Stan James
2001 Phil Taylor (99.57) 18–10 Richie Burnett (90.99) £65,000
2002 Phil Taylor (98.76) 18–16 John Part (94.14) £75,500 £15,000 £7,500
2003 Phil Taylor (94.38) 18–12 Wayne Mardle (97.44) £80,000 £8,000
2004 Phil Taylor (100.20) 18–8 Mark Dudbridge (89.24) £100,000 £20,000 £10,000
2005 Colin Lloyd (97.89) 18–12 John Part (94.53) £120,000 £25,000 £12,500
2006 Phil Taylor (100.08) 18–11 James Wade (90.01) £150,000 £30,000 £15,000
2007 James Wade (96.83) 18–7 Terry Jenkins (91.62) £200,000 £50,000 £20,000
2008 Phil Taylor (109.47) 18–9 James Wade (102.58) £300,000 £60,000 £30,000
2009 Phil Taylor (106.05) 18–4 Terry Jenkins (92.32) £400,000 £100,000 £50,000
2010 Phil Taylor (105.16) 18–12 Raymond van Barneveld (100.11)
2011 Phil Taylor (103.84) 18–8 James Wade (98.84) Sky Bet
2012 Phil Taylor (98.97) 18–15 James Wade (95.92) Betfair
2013 Phil Taylor (111.23) 18–13 Adrian Lewis (105.92) BetVictor
2014 Phil Taylor (107.19) 18–9 Michael van Gerwen (101.49) £450,000
2015 Michael van Gerwen (99.91) 18–12 James Wade (90.37)
2016 Michael van Gerwen (103.93) 18–10 Phil Taylor (101.13)
2017 Phil Taylor (104.24) 18–8 Peter Wright (99.74) £500,000 £115,000 £55,000
2018 Gary Anderson (101.12) 21–19 Mensur Suljović (104.43)
2019 Rob Cross (95.16) 18–13 Michael Smith (95.91) £700,000 £150,000 £70,000 Betfred
2020 Dimitri Van den Bergh (98.31) 18–10 Gary Anderson (92.81) Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes

Records and statistics
As of 25 July 2020.

Total finalist appearances
Rank Player Nationality Won Runner-up Finals Appearances
1 Phil Taylor England1611724
2 Michael van Gerwen Netherlands21312
3 Rod Harrington England2029
4 James Wade England15615
5 Gary Anderson Scotland11212
6 Larry Butler United States1013
Peter Evison England10111
Colin Lloyd England10115
Rob Cross England1014
Dimitri Van den Bergh Belgium1011
10 Dennis Priestley England03317
12 Alan Warriner England02214
John Part Canada02215
Terry Jenkins England02213
15 Ronnie Baxter England01117
Peter Manley England01113
Richie Burnett Wales0119
Wayne Mardle England0117
Mark Dudbridge England0118
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands01112
Adrian Lewis England01116
Peter Wright Scotland01110
Mensur Suljović Austria0117
Michael Smith England0118
  • Active players are shown in bold
  • Only players who reached the final are included
  • In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by family name

Champions by country
Country Players Total First title Last title
 England 6 22 1995 2019
 Netherlands 1 2 2015 2016
 USA 1 1 1994 1994
 Scotland 1 1 2018 2018
 Belgium 1 1 2020 2020

Nine-dart finishes

Seven nine-dart finishes have been thrown at the World Matchplay. The first one was in 2002.

Player Year (+ Round) Method Opponent Result
Phil Taylor 2002, Quarter-Finals 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Chris Mason Won
Raymond van Barneveld 2010, 1st Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Denis Ovens Won
John Part 2011, 1st Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Mark Webster Lost
Michael van Gerwen 2012, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Steve Beaton Won
Wes Newton 2012, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 Justin Pipe Lost
Phil Taylor 2014, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 Michael Smith Won
Gary Anderson 2018, Quarter-Finals 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Joe Cullen Won

Tournament records
A match in progress on the World Matchplay stage.
Longest match in Matchplay history
The 2018 final went to 40 legs as a result of the format of "2 clear legs".
Longest unbeaten run
Phil Taylor from 2008–2015: Won 38 matches in a row. Taylor only lost eight matches in the history of the event:

Averages

An average over 100 in a match in the PDC World Matchplay has been achieved 142 times, of which Phil Taylor is responsible for 62. In 2010, Phil Taylor became the first player to average over 100 in all five rounds of the tournament. He repeated this feat in 2011 and 2013.

An average of over 105 in a match in the World Matchplay has been achieved 34 times, of which Phil Taylor is responsible for 24. The highest match average ever in the World Matchplay is 114.99 by Phil Taylor in his Last 32 victory over Barrie Bates in 2010. The highest match average ever in the World Matchplay Final is 111.23 by Phil Taylor against Adrian Lewis in 2013.

Ten highest PDC World Matchplay one-match averages[6]
Average Player Year (+ Round) Opponent Result
114.99 Phil Taylor 2010, Last 32 Barrie Bates 10–6
113.43 Phil Taylor 1997, Last 32 Gary Mawson 8–0
112.17 Phil Taylor 2002, Quarter Final Chris Mason 16–7
111.23 Phil Taylor 2013, Final Adrian Lewis 18–13
110.93 Michael van Gerwen 2015, Last 16 Jamie Lewis 13–2
110.51 Adrian Lewis 2014, Last 32 Andrew Gilding 10–0
109.71 Phil Taylor 2008, Last 16 Colin Osborne 13–5
109.47 Phil Taylor 2008, Final James Wade 18–9
109.47 Phil Taylor 2009, Last 16 Kevin Painter 13–3
109.42 Phil Taylor 2004, Last 32 Alex Roy 10–1
Five highest losing averages
Average Player Year (+ Round) Opponent Result
105.92 Adrian Lewis 2013, Final Phil Taylor 13–18
105.68 Gary Anderson 2014, Semi-Final Phil Taylor 15–17
105.17 Gary Anderson 2017, Last 16 Daryl Gurney 9–11
104.57 Peter Wright 2019, Quarter-Final Daryl Gurney 13–16
104.43 Mensur Suljović 2018, Final Gary Anderson 19–21
Different players with a 100+ match average (Updated 19 July 2020)
Player Total Highest Av. Year (+ Round)
Phil Taylor 62 114.99 2010, Last 32
Michael van Gerwen 15 110.93 2015, Last 16
Peter Wright 10 108.13 2015, Last 32
Gary Anderson 10 106.06 2018, Semi-Final
Adrian Lewis 9 110.51 2014, Last 32
James Wade 6 103.59 2015, Last 32
Rob Cross 3 104.08 2017, Last 16
Raymond van Barneveld 3 103.86 2010, Last 16
Mervyn King 3 101.06 2014, Last 32
Michael Smith 3 101.02 2020, Last 32
Glen Durrant 2 106.93 2020, Last 32
Mensur Suljović 2 104.43 2018, Final
Peter Evison 2 103.77 1996, Last 16
Ian White 2 103.51 2015, Last 32
Daryl Gurney 2 103.26 2017, Last 16
Dave Chisnall 2 103.02 2018, Last 16
Stephen Bunting 2 102.48 2016, Last 32
Steve Beaton 2 100.98 2011, Last 32
Krzysztof Ratajski 1 107.53 2020, Last 32
Jeffrey de Zwaan 1 103.22 2018, Quarter-Final
Nathan Aspinall 1 102.96 2019, Last 32
Colin Lloyd 1 102.57 2005, Last 16
Shayne Burgess 1 102.03 1999, Last 16
Andy Hamilton 1 101.88 2006, Semi-Final
Alan Warriner-Little 1 101.55 1997, Quarter-Final
John Henderson 1 101.33 2019, Last 32
Cristo Reyes 1 101.29 2017, Last 32
Rod Harrington 1 101.22 1997, Last 32
Jamie Hughes 1 101.13 2020, Last 32
Kevin Painter 1 101.01 2009, Last 32
Mark Walsh 1 100.41 2008, Last 32
Five highest tournament averages
Average Player Year
106.31 Phil Taylor 2010
105.81 Phil Taylor 2013
105.73 Phil Taylor 2009
105.50 Phil Taylor 2011
104.81 Phil Taylor 2008

Format

From the beginning of the tournament in 1994, the World Matchplay has always been a legs only event. The length of matches for each round has changed several times over the years, as shown below.

1994
  • First Round: First to 8 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Second Round: First to 8 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Quarter Finals: First to 11 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Semi Finals: First to 11 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Final: First to 16 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)

1995–1996
  • First Round: First to 8 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Second Round: First to 8 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Quarter Finals: First to 11 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Semi Finals: First to 13 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Final: First to 16 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)

1997
  • Preliminary Round: First to 6 legs (no tiebreak; sudden death leg at 5–5)
  • First Round: First to 8 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Second Round: First to 8 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Quarter Finals: First to 11 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Semi Finals: First to 13 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Final: First to 16 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)

1998
  • First Round: First to 8 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Second Round: First to 8 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Quarter Finals: First to 13 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Semi Finals: First to 13 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Final: First to 18 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)

1999–2012
  • First Round: First to 10 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Second Round: First to 13 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Quarter Finals: First to 16 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Semi Finals: First to 17 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)
  • Final: First to 18 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs)

2013–2015
  • First Round: First to 10 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 12–12)
  • Second Round: First to 13 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 15–15)
  • Quarter Finals: First to 16 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 18–18)
  • Semi Finals: First to 17 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 19–19)
  • Final: First to 18 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 20–20)

2016–present
  • First Round: First to 10 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 12–12)
  • Second Round: First to 11 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 13–13)
  • Quarter Finals: First to 16 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 18–18)
  • Semi Finals: First to 17 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 19–19)
  • Final: First to 18 legs (match must be won by 2 clear legs; sudden death leg at 20–20)

Media coverage

The World Matchplay has been broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports since the first tournament.[7]

Sponsors

There have been seven different sponsors for the World Matchplay:

SponsorYears
Proton Cars1994
Webster's1995–1997
No sponsor1998–1999
Stan James2000–2010
Skybet2011
Betfair2012
BetVictor[1]2013–2018
Betfred2019–

References
  1. "BetVictor To Sponsor World Matchplay". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  2. http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/bgb4ol0qkjjl1v2he76at5dpc/title/betvictor-world-matchplay-rule-change
  3. "Taylor Receives World Matchplay Honour". PDC.
  4. Phillips, Josh. "Betfred World Matchplay to take place behind closed doors". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  5. http://www.mastercaller.nl/en/tournaments/pdc/world-matchplay/1996
  6. dartsdatabase.co.uk; best winning averages
  7. "PDC & Sky Sports Extend Partnership". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
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