Schedule World Matchplay 2024: Humphries, defending champion Aspinall and Price in action on Saturday night

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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'.