PREVIEW | Who will brave the heat of the 'Winter Gardens'? The major contenders for the 2025 World Matchplay

The 2025 World Matchplay is about to begin. The world's best dart players are expected in Blackpool from July 19 to 27 where they will compete for the coveted Phil Taylor Trophy. Read our extensive preview of this event in this article.

The tournament at the Winter Gardens is the second largest ranking tournament of the year. With a prize pool of 800,000 pounds, players can take a big hit in the world rankings. The field of participants at the World Matchplay consists of 32 players. The top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit are seeded in the first round, and the 16 best Pro Tour players complete the lineup.
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In terms of prestige and stature, the World Matchplaay obviously cannot match the status of the World Darts Championship, but you could argue that on the World Matchplay there is better overall throwing because only good players are present. It is actually similar to the start of the last 32 at the World Darts Championship, the part after Christmas where really only top matches are played.

Nor is it surprising that the World Matchplay is affectionately called the summer World Championship by some. "Blackpool in July, London in December,'' is therefore a famous quote from the late darts commentator John Gwynne.

Following the creation of the World Darts Council (WDC) in 1992, the forerunner of the organization now known as the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), the World Matchplay was first established in 1994.

Darts icons such as Dennis Priestley, Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Rod Harrington, Paul Lim, Keith Deller, Jocky Wilson, Bob Anderson and Phil Taylor were among the field of participants at the time, but it was Larry Butler who could call himself the first winner of the World Matchplay. He won in the final 16-12 from Priestley, who would also lose the final in 1995 and 1996.

In 1995, Taylor won his first of eventually 16 World Matchplay titles, but his dominance only took shape in the 21st century. In the late 1990s, Peter Evison and Rod Harrington (1998 and 1999) still managed to win the tournament in Blackpool. Between 2000 and 2014, Taylor won the tournament no less than thirteen times. Only Colin Lloyd (2005) and James Wade (2007) managed to break the hegemony of 'The Power'.

Michael van Gerwen still lost in the final to an unleashed Taylor in 2014, but captured his first titles in Blackpool in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, Taylor would take his 16th World Matchplay title in his last appearance at the World Matchplay.

After Taylor's last triumph, there were no fewer than seven different winners. Gary Anderson triumphed in 2018 in a legendary final against Mensur Suljovic (21-19), a match that still stands as the longest final ever at the World Matchplay. After that, it was Rob Cross, Dimitri van den Bergh, Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen, Nathan Aspinall and Luke Humphries who got to lift the Phil Taylor Trophy.

The tournament will be played in the Empress Ballroom, an imposing venue in the Winter Gardens in the heart of Blackpool. This venue has been the permanent home of this prestigious event since the World Matchplay's inception in 1994.

If you ask players and true darts fans about their favorite darts venue, most will choose the Winter Gardens. With an impressive vaulted ceiling, classic chandeliers and balconies overlooking the stage create a setting you won't find in any other darts venue. What's more, there is an intimate menacing atmosphere due to the fact that the audience is enormously close to the stage.

However, the intimate setting also has its tipping point, as the venue is known to be super hot. Especially on stage, where bright lights provide additional illumination, it is then a few extra degrees hotter.

All matches are played in a legs format. Each match must be won with a difference of two legs. If the score is tied after the regular format and six extra legs, the match will be decided with a sudden death leg.

The last eight editions of the World Matchplay produced eight different winners. It would be absolutely no surprise if this trend continues and a ninth different winner is added to this list.

After all, the gap is wider than ever, although of course, based on the performances in the first half of the season, there are a number of candidates who travel to Blackpool with the necessary expectations. In our opinion, these are the biggest contenders for the title at the 2025 World Matchplay.

The bookmakers see Luke Littler as the main contender for the title in Blackpool. 'The Nuke' made his debut at the Winter Gardens last year, but then had to drop out in the first round against Michael van Gerwen.

Meanwhile, 'The Nuke' is considered the reigning world champion, who also added the UK Open to his record in March. After that, the engine stalled somewhat. Littler won another Euro Tour and reached the Premier League final, but it all looks a lot less dominant in recent weeks than it did in the early spring.

What does speak in Littler's favor is his draw. The 18-year-old teenage sensation meets Ryan Searle in the first round and further has Peter Wright, Damon Heta and Rob Cross as the seeds in his portion of the draw. Littler owes it to his seeding to make it to at least the semifinals.

Of course, the world number one also belongs in the list of top favorites. Luke Humphries is also the defending champion in Blackpool, having triumphed 18-15 against Michael van Gerwen in last year's final. Humphries can join an illustrious list with Rod Harrington, Phil Taylor and Van Gerwen, the only players who managed to defend their World Matchplay titles.

After his disappointing exit in the fourth round of the World Darts Championship against Peter Wright, "Cool Hand Luke" is standing out especially at the important moments in 2025. The Englishman won the World Masters and the Premier League Darts, thus already filling his trophy cabinet with no fewer than nine major titles in a span of less than two years.

Recently, there was also World Series success for Humphries, who managed to take the US Darts Masters title at Madison Square Garden, ticking off another prestigious prize. The World Matchplay marks the start of a period for Humphries to defend his number-one position in the world rankings. As recently as 2023, the Englishman made it to the last four in Blackpool before winning the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and then the World Darts Championship later that year. So there is about a million pounds in prize money at stake for Humphries. 

Humphries must be alert in the first round, because up-and-coming talent Gian van Veen will be his first opponent. Furthermore, the former world champion has a number of dangerous outsiders in his quarter with Nathan Aspinall and James Wade.

Gerwyn Price has reinvented himself again this year. There was nothing left of the fanatical Price in recent years and 'The Iceman' mostly made an unmotivated impression. This year, however, we see the Price from the years 2018 to 2022 back, and what's more, 'The Iceman' has also been embraced again by the public, after being booed somewhat unfairly at times for years.

At the end of last year, Price was already playing good regularly, but did not yet manage to turn his form into results. He will succeed in doing so in 2025. This season, Price has already won three floor tournaments, a Euro Tour and a World Series title. In addition, the Welshman stood together with compatriot Jonny Clayton in the final of the World Cup of Darts.

Next up for Price is winning a ranking title on television, which has also been some time in the interim. That was his third final victory at the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts. The Welshman has quite a bit of prize money to defend in the autumn, so he could actually use some success in Blackpool as well.

Price starts his tournament against Daryl Gurney, which in principle should be a viable but tough opener for the former rugby player. His potential opponents in the second round are Chris Dobey and Ricardo Pietreczko, also not immediately unfavorable. After that, it does get a lot spicier right away, with possibly Michael van Gerwen or Josh Rock in the quarterfinals and then perhaps Luke Littler in the semifinals. But with Price's form this season, he could win the World Matchplay just like that.

In 2020, the World Cup title was a springboard for Jonny Clayton to individual major success, and perhaps Josh Rock can follow suit in 2025. 'Rocky' surprisingly won the title this year together with Daryl Gurney, but also shows fine results at the ranking tournaments.

Rock is sprinkling 100+ averages on the Pro Tour and also managed to capture a Players Championship title earlier this year. It seems a matter of time until the Northern Irishman makes his first individual major final.

His first round against Ross Smith promises fireworks. Two power scoring box office dynamos, who may miss some chances on the doubles but only adds to the drama

Michael van Gerwen will have to get used to not being the clear favorite at the World Matchplay. And maybe that will also ensure that he can go into the tournament with an open mind, although Van Gerwen is not the kind of player who does not put any pressure on himself to perform.

After a rather surprising World Championship final, Van Gerwen did not have a good spring, although the three-time world champion can make an excuse with his divorce troubles. Van Gerwen did win another Euro Tour, but otherwise looked particularly erratic and suffered many early defeats at floor tournaments.

Although it is not unrealistic to think that Van Gerwen will pick up the title in Blackpool, 'Mighty Mike' can grow into the tournament and who knows what is possible. He has to deal with compatriot Raymond van Barneveld first, and that is a good test case to see how his form is doing.

Gary Anderson had to briefly fear participation in the World Matchplay in 2024, but after winning a Euro Tour title and several Pro Tour successes finally qualified comfortably for the tournament in Blackpool. In the meantime, "The Flying Scotsman" is also showing up more and more often on the Euro Tour, and with success. He defended his title at the European Darts Grand Prix and was in the final of the Baltic Sea Darts Open early this month.

On television, however, the Scot's performance needs to improve. While Anderson did reach the semifinals at the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts, that is also his only semifinal in the past three years. Because of that semifinal, Anderson is now firmly in the top-16 of the world rankings, but with his floor and Euro Tour form, the two-time world champion actually belongs in the top-10 of the PDC Order of Merit. But then he will also have to perform at the majors.

Anderson has not found himself in an unfavorable part of the draw. He plays Luke Woodhouse in the first round, then Stephen Bunting and Ryan Joyce are the possible opponents in the second round. With further Jonny Clayton, Martin Schindler, Dave Chisnall and Mike de Decker in his quarters, a semifinal could just be in the cards for Anderson, and he may be able to make the world number one Humphries sweat.

Never write off Nathan Aspinall, as he has proved not for the first time in recent months. At first there was a lot of commotion about his invitation to the Premier League Darts, but in the end 'The Asp' qualified nicely thanks to two weekend titles for the final night.

On the ranking majors, Aspinall also performed very consistently, with quarter-finals at the World Darts Championship, the UK Open and World Masters. However, the Stockport-based dart player's greatest successes came on the Euro Tour, where he won the tournaments in Göttingen and Leverkusen. These were his first two Euro Tour titles ever, while he also reached the final of the International Darts Open.

With these successes, Aspinall has already covered part of the prize money he has to defend at this tournament. After all, two years ago 'The Asp' won the World Matchplay and that means he has to defend 200,000 pounds of prize money.

An early elimination threatens Aspinall to fall from seventh place to a spot outside the top-20. With Wessel Nijman, however, he will meet a dangerous opponent. The further route is not easy either, as Aspinall may have to beat James Wade, Luke Humphries and Stephen Bunting to reach the World Matchplay final again.

Jonny Clayton is the losing finalist from two years ago, and so for him there is £100,000 in prize money at stake. However, 'The Ferret' is firmly in the top-10 of the world rankings, so the pressure for him is a little less than Aspinall's.

The Welshman is actually one the surprises of 2025. Clayton, of course, had already established a considerable track record, but seemed to have already passed his prime. This year, however, 'The Ferret' is again performing excellently, which means he is now simply the world number five again.

Clayton was one leg away from final victory at the World Masters in early February, which would have been his first major title since October 2021. He also made it to the semifinals at the UK Open, and Clayton won both a Players Championship tournament and a Euro Tour event.

In the draw for the World Matchplay, Clayton was paired with Martin Schindler, who has never won a match at this tournament. However, the German has developed strongly over the past 12 months, but despite this, Clayton remains the favorite to advance. A win over 'The Wall' will see Clayton play Dave Chisnall or Mike de Decker in the second round, which could also have been a lot tougher.

It would be unfair not to name Stephen Bunting as an outsider, because 'The Bullet' has actually had an excellent first half of the season as well. The only disappointment was the Premier League Darts, in which he was in last place all season.

On the other hand, however, Bunting managed to win two more World Series tournaments after his semifinal at the World Darts Championship, as well as a Euro Tour and a Players Championship title. The English crowd favorite is currently number four in the world rankings and, compared to the other top players, actually has quite little to defend in the coming months.

The darter from St. Helens will face a tricky opponent in the first round of the World Matchplay. With Ryan Joyce he will meet one of the best finishers on the circuit, someone who has already made a name for himself as a giant killer. While Bunting will be the better scorer, he will have to take advantage of his chances on the doubles to prevent Joyce from mercilessly punishing those mistakes. Should Bunting get through this match, a delicious cracker with Gary Anderson may await at the last sixteen.