Schedule Friday night at World Matchplay 2024 including Michael van Gerwen vs Andrew Gilding & Michael Smith vs Rob Cross

James Wade and Luke Humphries have already qualified for the semifinals at the 2024 World Matchplay in Balckpool. On Friday night it is the turn of the four players at the other side of the draw. Read our preview for Friday night's two quarterfinals at the Winter Gardens right here.

Compared to the second round, the format has gone up a bit again. Sixteen legs will have to be won to reach the next round. However, that is subject to a difference of two clear legs at that point. If the score is 15-15 after thirty legs, then an extension will be started. If the score is still tied after six additional legs, a sudden-death leg will be played.

The bookmakers initially thought Michael van Gerwen would go home in the first round at the 2024 World Matchplay, but he has since become the second favourite for the overall victory in Blackpool behind world number one Luke Humphries.

Van Gerwen was paired with Luke Littler in the first round draw. Along with Humphries, the teenage sensation was the big favourite to take the title. However, the Dutchman proved the bookies wrong by beating the 17-year-old Englishman 10-6. Moreover, Van Gerwen ended up playing another good quality match with an average of 102 and a finishing percentage of 43 percent. In his second round match against Joe Cullen, Van Gerwen was a lot more shaky, but he did show that his B-game is on the rise. The 35-year-old from Vlijmen was ahead 4-1 and 9-5 against Cullen, but for a moment the game seemed to slip out of his hands and Cullen returned to 10-8. At the key moment, however, Van Gerwen was there again and pulled the match to 11-8.

Van Gerwen already has plenty of experience playing quarterfinals at the World Matchplay. It is the ninth time 'Mighty Mike' has reached the last eight in Blackpool. Three times it resulted in the final victory, but before that Van Gerwen has to win three more matches.

On paper, it would have been more likely that he would meet Peter Wright or Dave Chisnall in the last eight, but so it turned out to be Andrew Gilding. 'Goldfinger' himself was responsible for the elimination of Peter Wright in the first round.

He then faced Krzysztof Ratajski, who had defeated Dave Chisnall. Against Ratajski, Gilding played even better than against Wright. Thanks to an average of 98 and a finishing percentage of 50 percent, he outplayed the Pole 11-5. Nine of the 11 legs won were thrown within 15 darts.

Scoring-wise, Van Gerwen and Gilding are not very different at this tournament. Van Gerwen has a first-9 average of 106.86, compared to 105.26 for Gilding. If "Goldfinger" manages to keep up with Van Gerwen scoring, it could be a very interesting match. For now, the Englishman is the best finisher at this tournament with a finishing percentage of 52.5 percent. Van Gerwen's finishing percentage stands at 43.75 percent.

In the head-to-head, Van Gerwen is leading 7-2. From 2012-2023, 'Mighty Mike' won the first five meetings between them. Gilding then managed to record his first win over Van Gerwen in sensational fashion in the 2023 UK Open final. A victory over the Dutchman in a Players Championship match also followed this year, while Van Gerwen was 6-5 too strong for Gilding at a Euro Tour tournament this year. Van Gerwen already once referred to his English opponent as an assassin, so he has been warned about the qualities of 'Goldfinger'.

The only piece of the draw where the highest seeded names lived up to their tag. On Friday night, former world champions Michael Smith and Rob Cross battle for a spot in the last four in Blackpool.

Smith began the tournament with a victory over his former mentor Gary Anderson. 'Bullyboy' was slow to get going for a while, but after falling behind 0-4, Smith switched up quite a few levels. He conceded only one more leg in the remainder of the match, and thanks to an average of 102, a 10-5 final score was on the scoreboard. In the second round, Smith won 11-9 over Chris Dobey, who had already thwarted him three times at the majors in the past calendar year. For the 2023 world champion, it will be his fourth quarterfinal at the World Matchplay. The first was only in 2019, when he lost to Cross in the final, of all places. In 2020, the semifinals were the finish line and in 2021 Smith was last in the quarterfinals in Blackpool.

The year Cross won the World Matchplay was the only time 'Voltage' managed to get past the second round. A good omen, then, for the 2018 world champion, who could easily have already been out of the tournament. The 33-year-old Englishman survived no fewer than six match darts in his opening round match against Gian van Veen before winning 13-12 via a sudden-death leg. In the last sixteen, Cross triumphed comfortably 11-6 against Ryan Searle.

Cross has already thrown two averages above 100 for now; 100.42 and 106.99. With Smith, the averages were a little lesser. His average in the first round (102.08) was followed up with an average of 93.91 in the second round. Anyway, based on the performance this season, Cross is slightly the favorite in the duel between the two Englishmen. Moreover, it is notable that Cross is not at all a fine opponent for Smith when the head-to-head is scrutinized. 'Bullyboy' managed to win only 7 of the 27 previous encounters. The positive for Smith, however, is that he won the last showdown against Cross by a whopping 6-0.

Michael van Gerwen v Andrew Gilding

Michael Smith v Rob Cross