The World Matchplay, also known as the Betfred World Matchplay for sponsorship purposes, is a professional darts tournament and one of three legs of the Triple Crown. It is played in a legs format, and is run by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Luke Humphries is the current champion after winning the 2024 edition.

History

The World Matchplay has been played annually since 1994 in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The first ever winner was Larry Butler, who beat Dennis Priestley 16–12, and the current holder is Luke Humphries. The 1995 World Matchplay turned out to be Jocky Wilson's last appearance in a major televised event. Wilson had reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural tournament in 1994 and he beat Rod Harrington in the 1st round in 1995, but a 2nd round defeat against Nigel Justice was effectively the end of his career. From 1994 to 2012, matches at the World Matchplay had to be won by two clear legs. For example, the first round was usually played over the first to 10 legs, but if the score reached 9–9, play continued until either player gained a two-leg lead. Starting with the 2013 World Matchplay, if a two leg-lead hadn't been established after six extra legs, then a sudden death leg is played, so sudden death would come into play in a first round match at 12–12. Over the course of the tournament's 31-year existence, there have been thirteen different winners: Phil Taylor (16), Michael van Gerwen (3), Rod Harrington (2), Gary Anderson (1), Nathan Aspinall (1), Larry Butler (1), Rob Cross (1), Peter Evison (1), Luke Humphries (1), Colin Lloyd (1), Dimitri Van den Bergh (1), James Wade (1) and Peter Wright (1). Dennis Priestley was also runner-up for three consecutive years. From 2018 onwards, the World Matchplay champion will receive the Phil Taylor Trophy, as was announced by the PDC following the retirement of the sixteen-time winner of the tournament. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the 2020 World Matchplay was held at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, behind closed doors.

World Matchplay finals

Records and statistics

Total finalist appearances

Champions by country

Nine-dart finishes

Nine nine-dart finishes have been thrown at the World Matchplay. The first one was in 2002, when Phil Taylor hit the first live 9-darter in UK television history.

Tournament records

Averages

An average over 100 in a match in the PDC World Matchplay has been achieved 142 times, of which Phil Taylor is responsible for 62. In 2010, Phil Taylor became the first player to average over 100 in all five rounds of the tournament. He repeated this feat in 2011 and 2013. An average of over 105 in a match in the World Matchplay has been achieved 35 times, of which Phil Taylor is responsible for 24. The highest match average ever in the World Matchplay is 114.99 by Phil Taylor in his Last 32 victory over Barrie Bates in 2010. The highest match average ever in the World Matchplay Final is 111.23 by Phil Taylor against Adrian Lewis in 2013.

Format

From the beginning of the tournament in 1994, the World Matchplay has always been a legs only event. The length of matches for each round has changed several times over the years, as shown below.

1994

1995–1996

1997

1998

1999–2012

2013–2015

2016–present

Media coverage

The World Matchplay has been broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports since the first tournament.

Sponsors

There have been seven different sponsors for the World Matchplay: