From Saturday, July 15 to Sunday, July 23, the thirtieth edition of the World Matchplay will take place. The event will take place at the old familiar venue at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, where the tournament took place at its first edition in 1994.
The tournament has been won by 11 different winners in 29 years, but the majority has been accounted for by Phil Taylor. The English darts legend was the best in Blackpool no less than sixteen times.
Especially in the period 1995 to 2014, "The Power" was virtually unbeatable in Blackpool. It was therefore fitting that in his farewell year in 2017, Taylor managed to win the World Matchplay as his last major title.
Michael van Gerwen (three times) and Rod Harrington (twice) are the only other players to win the tournament more than once. James Wade, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright, Dimitri van den Bergh, Larry Butler, Peter Evison, Colin Lloyd and Rob Cross got to lift the cup once.
Who is competing in the World Matchplay?
The field of participants for the 2023 World Matchplay consists of the top 16 players in the world rankings and the 16 highest ranked players on the cleaned Pro Tour Order of Merit.
This year there are four Dutchmen competing in Blackpool. Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode have seeded status, while Raymond van Barneveld qualified through the Pro Tour. Dimitri van den Bergh, Kim Huybrechts and Mike de Decker are the three Belgian participants.
The complete world top is present at this prestigious tournament. Among others, big names such as Michael Smith, Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Luke Humphries, Jonny Clayton and James Wade also appear on the stage at the Winter Gardens.
Who are the favorites?
Tournament sponsor Betfred has named Michael Smith as the main contender for the title in Blackpool. That will no doubt be based on his status as reigning world champion and world number one.
Based on form, Michael van Gerwen is the big favorite. The Dutchman won the Premier League Darts, US Darts Masters and Poland Darts Masters in recent months. At the World Series tournament in Poland early this month, Van Gerwen was supreme, including two averages above 110.
Another major contender for the title is Gerwyn Price. 'The Iceman' already captured two Euro Tour titles in 2023 and was in the final of the Premier League Darts. Outsiders for the title are darters such as Luke Humphries, Peter Wright, Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock and perhaps also Dirk van Duijvenbode. The latter has already won three Players Championship tournaments this season and stood in two Euro Tour finals.
Where can I watch the World Matchplay on TV?
The tournament will be broadcast fully live in the Netherlands by darts channel Viaplay. Belgian fans can tune in via Belgian channel VTM 2.
From Saturday, July 15 through Wednesday, July 20, the broadcasts will begin around 8 p.m. in the evening. In addition, on Sunday, July 16, there will be an afternoon session starting at 2:00 p.m. After the second round, the start time of the evening sessions will shift up one hour.
On Sunday afternoon, July 24, the second edition of the Women's World Matchplay is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm. Here, eight ladies will compete for the title at the most important women's tournament at 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. 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.
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