Five must watch matches in the first round of the 2024 World Matchplay

Between July 13 and 21, the World Matchplay is back on the schedule. 32 darters will travel to Winter Garden, Blackpool, to compete for the Phil Taylor Trophy. In the first round some great matches await us. In this article, we highlight five matches you do not want to miss.

On paper, these two high scorers should be closely matched. Both are known to be able to throw a good scoring average, the only difference could be in the pace. 'Smudger' & 'Rocky' only faced each other once before, on a European Tour last year. Both Smith and Rock managed to throw averages above 100 and they collectively produced nine 180 scores in 11 legs. In the end, it was Smith who prevailed in that match, winning 6-5.

If both men manage to reach their best scoring levels this could be a very exciting and beautiful match. However, if I have to pick a winner at this point I would go for Josh Rock, if it will be a tight win.

Having reached the semi-final at the World Matchplay in 2023 before losing out in a thriller to Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries returns this time around a completely different beast. Now, a multiple major winner, 'Cool Hand Luke' returns to Blackpool the world champion, world number one and pre-tournament favourite. Fresh off the back of his recent World Cup of Darts success for England alongside Michael Smith, confidence is surely close to an all-time high for the 29-year-old currently.

In Ricardo Pietreczko however, Humphries is tasked with a very tricky opening round opponent. Making his World Matchplay debut, the German won a European Tour title in 2023 and has seemed on the verge of a big breakthrough for a little while now. Could a win over the world champion in Blackpool be that win that takes Pikachu to the next level?

Gian van Veen is going to make his debut at the World Matchplay and will face a very tough opponent right away in the first round: Rob Cross. 'The Giant' managed to qualify through the Pro Tour Order of Merit, where he is ranked fifth thanks to his good performances on the floor and European Tour. Van Veen has experienced a fairly quick breakthrough, however, on the big stage he is still waiting for his first final. Who knows, maybe he can surprise us in this Matchplay, however, he will have to beat Rob Cross first.

Rob Cross managed to win this tournament in 2019, beating Michael Smith 18-15 in the final at the time. In the past 4 years, however, 'Voltage' did not manage to get beyond the quarterfinals (2x). The Englishman seems to be in very good form so far this year, which makes him one of the outsiders to win the tournament this time around.

One of the absolute crackers of the first round, if these two gentlemen can reach their best level it promises to be an absolute spectacle! From a player with the qualities Smith has, you would expect that he would have won the tournament by now. However, the Englishman does not have a great record at all at the World Matchplay. In his previous 11 participations, he managed to advance beyond the second round only three times. His best result came in 2019, when he managed to reach the final but eventually lost 13-18 to Rob Cross.

One would expect better results from Gary Anderson as well. The Scot was present in Blackpool no less than 15 times, but also he managed to advance beyond the second round only four times. Anderson's highlight at the Matchplay came in 2018, however, when he managed to beat Mensur Suljovic 21-19 in a thrilling final, taking the title for the first time. 'The Flying Scotsman' managed to reach the final again two years later, but it was lost 18-10 against Dimitri van den Bergh.

As mentioned earlier, on paper this should be able to be a great match. The apprentice against the master. Both Anderson and Smith are known for their amazing scoring ability and free flowing actions, this could be the most enjoyable watch of the whole World Matchplay.

THE match of the first round. I think everyone would agree that this is the match to look forward to the most. Although on the other hand, it is also a shame that one of these two top darters gets eliminated so early in the tournament. But on paper, 'MVG' & 'The Nuke' should provide fireworks.

Luke Littler will make his debut, at the World Matchplay, but where is the teenage sensation not making his debut this year? After his huge breakthrough, reaching the World Championship final and since breaking one record after another, the Englishman is one of the big favourites at just about every tournament he participates in. Even now at the World Matchplay this is no different.

Van Gerwen, on the other hand, things have been more difficult of late. The Dutchman has managed to win the World Matchplay three times already, but in last year's edition, he was surprisingly eliminated in the first round by Brendan Dolan (10-7). 'Mighty Mike' is not in the best period of his career, his level is very variable and he always seems to have at least one lesser match at a tournament. This makes it very difficult to estimate how far Van Gerwen could go this year, especially now that he immediately meets Luke Littler.