Schedule Monday night at World Matchplay 2024 with cracker between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler

There are still four spots up for grabs in the second round at the World Matchplay. The final matches of the first round will take place on Monday night, including the cracker between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler.

It will be the tenth time Van Gerwen and Littler have faced each other at an official tournament this season. In the head-to-head, 'Mighty Mike' is now leading 5-4, although Littler did manage to win the last two clashes.

For Littler, it will obviously be his debut at Blackpool. 'The Nuke' had only six months to qualify for this tournament, but by winning a Euro Tour tournament in early March, Littler had no trouble qualifying for the World Matchplay.

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Van Gerwen is the number two seed at the World Matchplay. It will be the Dutchman's sixteenth appearance at this prestigious tournament. Only in 2009, 2018 and 2023 was the tournament over after just one round for Van Gerwen. That also includes three titles (2015, 2016 and 2022).

Pupil to mentor

There is another cracker in the Winter Gardens on Monday. Michael Smith and Gary Anderson will also compete against each other. The two players have a special bond, as Anderson was Smith's mentor for many years and together they were also on the same management team for quite some time.

Anderson is also there for the 16th time at this tournament. 'The Flying Scotsman' is performing inconsistently at this tournament. He won the World Matchplay in 2018, but that was also only one of the four times Anderson made it to at least the quarterfinals. Smith also boasts a poor record at the World Matchplay. One quarterfinal, one semifinal and one final are the highlights from his previous 11 participations.

Smith and Anderson fought thirty duels in the past. Remarkably, the balance between them is exactly balanced, but that stat is a bit biased. The last five encounters were all won by Smith.

The session gets underway with a meeting between Damon Heta and Ryan Searle. Both men are competing in Blackpool for the fourth time and have a corresponding track record. Heta and Searle lost in the first round in 2021 and 2022, while they were both quarterfinalists last year. In the head-to-head, Searle leads 4-1.

Dessert of the evening will be accounted for by Chris Dobey and Ritchie Edhouse. For Edhouse, it will be his debut at the World Matchplay. For 'The Madhouse' it is the reward after an excellent six months on the Pro Tour, including two quarter-finals on the European Tour in 2024. Dobey has a little more experience in Blackpool. 'Hollywood' is among the participants for the fifth time, although last year was the only time he got past the first round. Then Dobey eventually made it to the quarter-finals. The two Englishmen only faced each other three times in the past, although the last time was also some time ago. Dobey won the last meeting between these two players in 2022, leading 2-1 in the mutual balance.