We know the first semifinal of the surprising World Matchplay 2023: Joe Cullen takes on Nathan Aspinall. Friday night we will find out who will face each other in the second semifinal. Luke Humphries will be in action, the highest-ranked player left. Can he turn his status into silverware?
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The Friday evening session, which starts at 20:00, is kicked off with the match between Ryan Searle and Jonny Clayton. Searle also tied Peter Wright on Wednesday night after Raymond van Barneveld. Although Searle did not throw as well as he did against Van Barneveld, a 95 average against Wright was very decent.
Alone, Searle has to face Clayton. The man from Wales had to toil against Clemens on Monday night, but made a great impression against Dimitri Van den Bergh on Wednesday: he won 11-6 and threw almost 102 average. That combined with some great finishes proved Clayton is ready for the final stage of the tournament.
In the final match, Luke Humphries takes on Damon Heta. Dirk van Duijvenbode would have been close behind. Only Humphries struck back from a 7-10 deficit, and made it haf in the tiebreak. Humphries showed against De Sousa what he was capable of (100+ average), but against Van Duijvenbode he could only show that level in the final stages.
So how will Humphries fare against the solid, slower Heta? The Australian has not faced much opposition at this Matchplay. Rock was only able to make a fist in the early stages, while Dolan (1-11) didn't make any trouble at all. Heta is consistent, a superb Matchplayer, but how will he handle a situation where Humphries is putting serious pressure on him?
The tournament will be broadcast in full on Sky Sports going between Action and Main Event.
From Saturday, July 15 through Wednesday, July 20, broadcasts will begin around 7 p.m. ET. In addition, on Sunday, July 16, there will be an afternoon session starting at 1 p.m. After the second round, the starting time of the evening sessions moves up one hour.
On Sunday afternoon, July 24, the second edition of the Women's World Matchplay is scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm. Here, eight ladies will compete for the title at the most important women's tournament in the PDC.
How much prize money can be earned at the World Matchplay
After the World Darts Championship, the World Matchplay is the ranking tournament with the largest prize pool at the PDC. There is a total of £800,000 in prize money to be distributed at this event.
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All 32 participants are guaranteed £10,000 in prize money. This could eventually add up to a check of as much as £200,000 for the darter who gets to lift the Phil Taylor Trophy on Sunday, July 23.
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Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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Night Seven will see two more quarter-finals take place, and it promises to be another epic night in Blackpool!
🕗 Tune in from 2000 BST on Friday.
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