Schedule World Matchplay 2024: Humphries, defending champion Aspinall and Price in action on Saturday night
PDC
The start of the 2024 World Matchplay has arrived. Saturday night, the first eight players will take to the oche at the magical Winter Gardens in Blackpool to compete for a spot in the last sixteen of this prestigious tournament.
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The Winter Gardens in Blackpool has been since the tournament's inception in 1994 hosting the World Matchplay. The top-16 of the world rankings and the sixteen best Pro Tour players are allowed to compete. The tournament is also referred to by some as the summer World Championship.
The schedule for the opening night of the World Matchplay is one to savour. No fewer than three former world champions begin their tournament Saturday night, as well as the defending champion.
Gerwyn Price v Daryl Gurney
What a match to start the tournament with. For Price, it will be his tenth participation in the World Matchplay. 'The Iceman' first got to compete in 2015, reaching the quarterfinals on his debut. In 2016, the second round was the finish line, before Price was eliminated four times in the first round. In the past three editions, the Welshman did make it past the first round. He was a quarterfinalist in 2021, losing to Michael van Gerwen in the final in 2022. Last year, Price lost in the second round against Joe Cullen.
Gurney debuted in Blackpool in 2016 and may be looking forward to his ninth participation. Only in 2016 and 2021 did "Superchin" lose his first match. Gurney's highlights at the World Matchplay were the 2017 and 2019 editions, when he managed to make it to the semifinals. Still, Gurney may also think back to his participation in 2019 with painful feelings. Then he squandered a 15-10 lead in the semifinals against eventual tournament winner Rob Cross. In 2023, Gurney again did creditably in the Winter Gardens with a quarterfinal finish.
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Price is the favorite to advance, but the former world champion's recurring problem is that he regularly fails to turn matches in which he plays well into wins. His annual average of 98.24 is surpassed by only three players, but the only tournament Price managed to win in 2024 was a World Series tournament. The Head to Head against Gurney is hopeful, though, for 'The Iceman,' who last lost to Gurney in 2019. Price won a total of 11 times from 'Superchin' and only three defeats in return.
Jonny Clayton v Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld will be there for the fourteenth time at the World Matchplay. The Dutchman was there continuously from 2007 to 2018 in Blackpool, before making his comeback at this event last year. In his first five appearances, Van Barneveld reached at least the quarterfinals each time. In 2010 that resulted in a final place, but in the final 'Barney' had to acknowledge his superiority to his great tormentor Phil Taylor. After 2011, Van Barneveld never made it past the last sixteen.
His upcoming opponent Jonny Clayton also did not have a great record at the World Matchplay, but 'The Ferret' surprisingly put an end to that by reaching the final in 2023. It was only the second time Clayton got past the first round, having previously succeeded in 2021. In 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022, the first round was the finish line.
Clayton showed his good form earlier this month by winning a Players Championship tournament. It was his first ranking title in over a year and a huge boost for the Welshman, who struggled with his form for several months. Van Barneveld has had a steady season. The five-time world champion won a Players Championship tournament in March often advances at least one or two rounds in tournaments. Clayton and Van Barneveld have only faced each other twice in the past, with the last encounter dating back to 2019. Both players managed to win from each other once.
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Luke Humphries v Ricardo Pietreczko
The World Matchplay should be the next tournament Luke Humphries adds to his resume. With a semifinal place in 2023, 'Cool Hand Luke' was already close to his final breakthrough last year. That finally came a few months later at the World Grand Prix, and then Humphries also won the Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship.
It will be only Humphries' fourth participation at this tournament. He debuted in 2022 with a spot in the second round, and a year later Humphries lost in the first round. For his opponent Ricardo Pietreczko, it is the first time he may travel to Blackpool. The German owes his qualification mainly to a strong closing Pro Tour season in 2023, with winning a Euro Tour tournament as the absolute highlight.
Pietreczko already faced Humphries at the World Darts Championship in December, and then 'Pikachu' missed an excellent opportunity to take down the current world number one. Pietreczko led 3-1 in sets and needed only one more leg in the fifth set to win the match, but the win eventually went to Humphries 4-3 in sets. Pietreczko will once again have to rise above himself to be a potential banana skin for "Cool Hand Luke.
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Nathan Aspinall v Luke Woodhouse
Out of nowhere, Nathan Aspinall took the title at the World Matchplay last season. It was his second major title, having previously won the UK Open in 2019. The World Matchplay title in 2023 was his sparse highlight in a year and a half, though, as otherwise there have been few good results from 'The Asp'. What worries him most is that his old arm injury is playing up again. This injury was so bad in late 2021 and early 2022 that Aspinall feared the end of his darts career.
Luke Woodhouse is one of five debutants at the World Matchplay. 'The Shed' is still waiting for his first PDC ranking title, but he rarely loses in the first round of a tournament and often gathers prize money this way. Woodhouse already debuted at the World Grand Prix last year, so now his next milestone is coming up.
They have already met six times. Woodhouse won the first two meetings, but after that Aspinall won four times. The matches between Aspinall and Woodhouse are always exciting. They never won by more than two legs, and three out of six times a match was decided after a deciding leg. It will be the first stage encounter between 'The Asp' and 'The Shed'.
Schedule World Matchplay 2024
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Saturday, July 13 (from 7:30 p.m.)
First round
Gerwyn Price v Daryl Gurney
Jonny Clayton v Raymond van Barneveld
Luke Humphries v Ricardo Pietreczko
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Woodhouse
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
