Preview semifinals World Matchplay: Aspinall, Cullen, Clayton and Humphries battle for spot in final on Saturday night

Four players remain in the battle for the title at the World Matchplay. One thing is certain and that is that the final will consist of two players anyway who have never made it to the final in Blackpool.

Of the four semifinalists, only Luke Humphries has yet to win a major tournament. Nathan Aspinall, Joe Cullen and Jonny Clayton do have a major to their name.

Aspinall and Cullen face each other in the first semifinal. Aspinall made it to the last four after wins over Krzysztof Ratajski (10-7), Danny Noppert (11-9) and Chris Dobey (16-12). Cullen dealt with Mike de Decker (10-7), Joe Cullen (13-11) and Daryl Gurney (16-11) in succession.

It will be the sixteenth official meeting between the two Englishmen. In the head-to-head, 'The Asp' leads 9-6. The last five confrontations between them have all gone to Aspinall, who has never lost to 'The Rockstar' on television.

The battle for the second final spot is between Clayton and Humphries. Clayton started with a mediocre match against Gabriel Clemens (10-8), but then was convincing against Dimitri van den Bergh (11-6) and Ryan Searle (16-12). Humphries, on the other hand, started strong against José de Sousa (10-2), but survived a matchdart in his second match against Dirk van Duijvenbode (14-12). In the last eight, he was too strong for Damon Heta (16-13).

Clayton and Humphries are gearing up for their seventh clash against each other. The first five were all a triumph for Clayton, but the last encounter was won by Humphries.

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.

After the World Darts Championship, the World Matchplay is the ranking tournament with the largest prize pool at the PDC. A total of 800,000 pounds of prize money is up for grabs at this event.

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.

Nathan Aspinall v Joe Cullen

Jonny Clayton v Luke Humphries