The field of participants for the thirtieth edition of the World Matchplay is known for the 15-23 July which was confirmed after the European Darts Matchplay.
The seeding list at the World Matchplay will be headed by Michael Smith, the current world champion and world number one. Gerwyn Price, as the fourth series head, will end up in the same half of play as Smith.
On the other side of the tournament schedule are Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen, with the latter the defending champion.
Raymond van Barneveld has qualified for the World Matchplay via the Pro Tour rankings. That does mean that the 56-year-old will be paired with one of the top-16 seeded players in the draw. For Van Barneveld, by the way, it will be his first participation in Blackpool since 2018.
Former champion Gary Anderson is also another dangerous floater in the draw on his return to the WInter Gardens after a superb first half of the year.
Through the Pro Tour Order of Merit, Mike de Decker and Josh Rock are the debutants this year, with many including Ricardo Pietrezcko and Gian van Veen just falling short. This will be the least number of debutants in some time.
Michael van Gerwen is the defending champion at the World Matchplay. He captured his third title in Blackpool last year by defeating Gerwyn Price 18-14.
Top-16 PDC Order of Merit
1. Michael Smith
2. Peter Wright
3. Michael van Gerwen
4. Gerwyn Price
5. Rob Cross
6. Luke Humphries
7. Jonny Clayton
8. Danny Noppert
9. Nathan Aspinall
10. Dimitri van den Bergh
11. Dirk van Duijvenbode
12. Dave Chisnall
13. Joe Cullen
14. Damon Heta
15. Ryan Searle
16. James Wade
Pro Tour Qualifiers
Josh Rock
Martin Schindler
Ross Smith
Krzysztof Ratajski
Jose de Sousa
Andrew Gilding
Gary Anderson
Stephen Bunting
Gabriel Clemens
Chris Dobey
Raymond van Barneveld
Daryl Gurney
Mike de Decker
Steve Beaton
Brendan Dolan
Kim Huybrechts
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! โ ๐๐ฏ Winning his first round match in Trier Barney qualifies for the World Matchplay after five long years of absence! ๐ The legend returns to a legendary tournament! ๐ฎโ๐จ
