World Matchplay Preview
The World Matchplay begins on July 13th at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Thirty-two players will enter the tournament with a winner decided on July 21st.
The World Matchplay is one of the PDC’s premier events and is one of the biggest tournaments in the world of darts. It makes up one-third of the Triple Crown with the Premier League and the World Championship.
World Matchplay Format
The World Matchplay is a straight knockout tournament made up of five rounds. The opening round is first to 10 legs, the second to 11, the quarter-finals 16, the semi-finals 17, and the final is first to 18 legs. Two clear legs must separate the players throughout the Darts World Matchplay as they will extend the match by six legs until there is a winner. After that, the players go to sudden death. For example, if a first-to-10 game is 12-12, the result of the following leg will decide the winner.
There are 32 players taking part in the World Matchplay. Qualification is determined by the PDC Order of Merit and the PDC ProTour Qualifiers. The top 16-seeded players in the PDC qualify automatically. The other half of the draw is determined by the performances of non-seeded players in the 12-month ProTour, with the sixteen highest earners qualifying unseeded. Seeded players face off against unseeded players in the first round. Here are the 32 players taking part in the tournament:
Seeded Players
- Luke Humphries
- Michael van Gerwen
- Michael Smith
- Gerwyn Price
- Nathan Aspinall
- Rob Cross
- Dave Chisnall
- Jonny Clayton
- Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Peter Wright
- Damon Heta
- Danny Noppert
- Ross Smith
- Chris Dobey
- Joe Cullen
- Stephen Bunting
Unseeded Players
- Gary Anderson
- Josh Rock
- Ryan Searle
- Martin Schindler
- Gian van Veen
- Luke Littler
- Ricardo Pietreczko
- Daryl Gurney
- Ryan Joyce
- Raymond van Barneveld
- Brendan Dolan
- Ritchie Edhouse
- Krzysztof Ratajski
- Luke Woodhouse
- Andrew Gilding
- James Wade
Tournament Newcomers
Several players are making their World Matchplay debut in 2024. Gian van Veen, Luke Littler, Ricardo Pietreczko, Ritchie Edhouse, and Luke Woodhouse will make their debut in the tournament. They all come in unseeded. Teenage sensation Luke Littler shocked the world when he reached the final of the World Darts Championship in January, narrowly losing to world number one Luke Humphries.
The Nuke has gone from strength to strength since. He was announced as one of the eight participants in the Premier League in January, winning the competition in May when he beat Humphries 11-7 in the final. Littler has also won two European Tour events, two World Series of Darts events, and a Players Championship in 2024. He is the youngest player ever to win a PDC Major Title, and he is fancied to claim his second in Blackpool. World Matchplay betting markets have Littler worth 18/5 to win outright. He faces a tough challenge in round one when he faces world number two Michael van Gerwen.
Another youngster, Northern Irishman Josh Rock, will appear in his first World Matchplay tournament. Rocky has climbed to 18th in the PDC Order of Merit, narrowly missing out on a seeded place in the Matchplay. He is ranked just below Gary Anderson at second in the PDC ProTour Qualifiers.
We most recently saw him at the World Cup of Darts for the first time, alongside Brendan Dolan. The 23-year-old was impressive and arguably carried his teammate through to the quarter-finals. Rocky has a favourable draw in the first round, playing Ross Smith. He will fancy himself to get through Smudger and beyond. Our online sportsbook has him as an outsider at 30/1 but the youngster has the chance to show he belongs here.
World Matchplay Schedule
The World Matchplay has taken place at the famous Winter Gardens in Blackpool every year since 1994, except once in 2020 due to COVID-19. Taking place over eight days between July 13th and 21st, the PDC returns to Winter Gardens once again. Sixteen first-round games take place between July 13th and 15th. With seedings completed on July 7th, we can look at the confirmed first-round games and the schedule beyond.
Saturday, July 13 (7:30 pm)
First Round x4
Gerwyn Price v Daryl Gurney
Jonny Clayton v Raymond van Barneveld
Luke Humphries v Ricardo Pietreczko
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Woodhouse
Sunday, July 14
Afternoon Session (1:00 pm)
First Round x4
Ross Smith v Josh Rock
Danny Noppert v James Wade
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce
Evening Session (7:00 pm)
First Round x4
Rob Cross v Gian van Veen
Joe Cullen v Brendan Dolan
Peter Wright v Andrew Gilding
Dave Chisnall v Krzysztof Ratajski
Monday, July 15 (7:00 pm)
First Round x4
Damon Heta v Ryan Searle
Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen v Luke Littler
Chris Dobey v Ritchie Edhouse
Tuesday, July 16 (7:00 pm)
Second Round x4
Wednesday, July 17 (7:00 pm)
Second Round x4
Thursday, July 18 (7:00 pm)
Quarter-Finals x2
Friday, July 19 (7:00 pm)
Quarter-Finals x2
Saturday, July 20 (8:00 pm)
Semi-Finals
Sunday, July 21
Evening Session (8:00 pm)
Final
World Matchplay Predictions and Betting Tips
Prediction: Luke Humphries to win the 2024 Darts World Matchplay
Luke Humphries has enjoyed a meteoric rise to superstardom in the world of darts. He first announced himself as an up-and-coming threat when he finished runner-up in the 2021 UK Open. Four wins on the European Tour and a Players Championship victory followed in 2022. Cool Hand claimed four major titles in last year’s PDC tour, winning the Grand Slam, World Grand Prix, Players Championship Finals, and the coveted World Championship.
The world number one most recently claimed the World Cup of Darts trophy in June alongside Michael Smith. He had an excellent Premier League campaign in 2024, finishing as runner-up. Humphries also won a European Tour event in April and reached the final of the UK Open. The 29-year-old has momentum behind him from his World Cup victory and enters as the favourite at the World Matchplay. He is playing the best darts of his career and our darts prediction is for a Luke Humphries victory. He is the favourite, according to World Matchplay betting, worth 14/5 with our online sportsbook.
Humphries faces Ricardo Pietreczko in the first round. The German finished 7th in the PDC ProTour order of merit after a strong 12 months. However, Pikachu has perhaps become best known for his antics on stage rather than his performances. He lashed out at Luke Littler in a semi-final clash at the Belgian Open in March, squaring up to the teenager before taking to Instagram to accuse him of ‘arrogance’. He also fumed at the crowd during a defeat to Beau Greaves at the Grand Slam of Darts in 2023. World Matchplay betting markets have him at 175/1 to win and he will have to keep a cool head if he is to get anything from the best player in the world in the first round.
LITTLER IS INTO THE FINAL! ☢️
On his European Tour debut, Luke Littler is in the FINAL! 🤯
He brilliantly defeats Ricardo Pietreczko 7-3 with a massive 104 average, can he go all the way here in Wieze?
📺 https://t.co/YyBPPwoMK8 | #ET1 SF pic.twitter.com/lkmCDYtZCh
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 10, 2024
Nathan Aspinall is the reigning World Matchplay champion, having beaten Jonny Clayton 18-6 in last year’s final. The Asp reached the semi-finals of the Masters in February, before agonisingly missing out on the Premier League playoffs when he lost to Michael Smith on the last night. Darts betting prices the Stockport lad at 30/1 to defend his title this year.
First Round Betting Tips
There are some tantalizing matchups in the first round. Starting on day one, we have world number one Luke Humphries taking on Pietreczko. Humphries is coming in fresh off his World Cup of Darts triumph with England alongside Michael Smith. He was on fire there, racking up the 180s and high checkouts. The over on his 180s line is a little high though and we instead like a bet on Humphries to have 2+ 100+ checkouts worth 5/4. He threw four in the World Cup Final in June and can carry that form to the World Matchplay.
Josh Rock will open his first-ever World Matchplay against Ross Smith on Sunday. The young Northern Irishman has been excellent on the ProTour and has shown his salt against top talent with wins over Dimitri Van den Bergh, Gerwyn Price, Martin Schindler, and Johnny Clayton on the European Tour.
These two men met just a few weeks ago in June. Smith narrowly edged out Rocky 6-5 in an incredible game where both men averaged over 100. Rocky will be out for revenge here, but this will again be a tight game. We instead like a bet on Rock to hit over 4.5 180s. He hit six in his last meeting with Smith. Unless Smudger completes an extremely unlikely whitewash, Rock will have plenty more legs to hit the over at the World Matchplay than he needed in their last game.
That same day, we see Peter Wright take on Andrew Gilding. Peter Wright had one of the poorest years of his career since the high of claiming the European Championship in October last year. He exited the Worlds in round two following his bye, finished bottom of the Premier League with just two wins, and is yet to reach a Players or Tour final in 2024 despite being ranked in the top 10. Snakebite beat Gilding resoundingly at the UK Open in March, but Gilding got his revenge when he defeated him in their most recent contest in May. We can see an upset here, and like a bet on Gilding, worth 5/4.
The biggest clash of all the first-round games is undoubtedly Luke Littler’s meeting with Michael van Gerwen on Monday. These two have developed an incredible professional rivalry since Littler burst onto the scene. In their nine meetings, MVG boasts five wins to the Nuke’s four. However, van Gerwen has been nowhere near his best in 2024. The recurring shoulder injury is partly to blame. Littler has been sensational on stage this year and we like a bet on Littler to win worth 3/5 with our online sportsbook.
Previous Winners
The home advantage has played to the advantage of English players at the World Matchplay. We have seen an English winner 23 times out of the 30 tournaments since 1994. While this bodes well for favourite Luke Humphries’ chances, much of the statistic is owed to the dominance of Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor. Such was his dominance that even seven years after his retirement he has won the World Matchplay more often than he hasn’t, with 16 victories from 17 finals. Below we will look at every English winner of the World Matchplay since the tournament began.
- 1995: Phil Taylor Def. Dennis Priestley
- 1996: Peter Evison Def. Dennis Priestley
- 1997: Phil Taylor Def. Alan Warriner
- 1998: Rod Harrington Def. Ronnie Baxter
- 1999: Rod Harrington Def. Peter Manley
- 2000: Phil Taylor Def. Alan Warriner
- 2001: Phil Taylor Def. Richie Burnett
- 2002: Phil Taylor Def. John Part
- 2003: Phil Taylor Def. Wayne Mardle
- 2004: Phil Taylor Def. Mark Dudbridge
- 2005: Colin Lloyd Def. John Part
- 2006: Phil Taylor Def. James Wade
- 2007: James Wade Def. Terry Jenkins
- 2008: Phil Taylor Def. James Wade
- 2009: Phil Taylor Def, Terry Jenkins
- 2010: Phil Taylor Def. Raymond van Barneveld
- 2011: Phil Taylor Def. James Wade
- 2012: Phil Taylor Def. James Wade
- 2013: Phil Taylor Def. Adrian Lewis
- 2014: Phil Taylor Def. Michael van Gerwen
- 2017: Phil Taylor Def. Peter Wright
- 2019: Rob Cross Def. Michael Smith
- 2023: Nathan Aspinall Def. Jonny Clayton
World Matchplay Prize Fund
The World Matchplay is one of the most lucrative tournaments on the PDC tour calendar. Only the Premier League and the World Championship have a more robust prize fund. That pot has risen exponentially throughout the years. Beginning in 1994, World Matchplay’s first prize fund was just £42,400. It reached £100,000 a decade later, £400,000 in the following decade, and has gradually built up further. Since 2022, the prize pot has been at £800,000, with every player receiving a minimum of £10,000. They divide the winnings as follows:
- Winner (1) £200,000
- Runner-up (1) £100,000
- Semi-finalists (2) £50,000
- Quarter-finalists (4) £30,000
- Second round (8) £15,000
- First round (16) £10,000
