World Matchplay (darts)
The World Matchplay, also known as the Betfred World Matchplay for sponsorship purposes, is a professional :Category:Darts tournaments|darts tournament. It is played in a legs format, and is run by the Professional Darts Corporation. Dimitri Van den Bergh is the current champion after winning the 2020 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 Rob Cross. It is regarded as the second biggest PDC Tournament, status shown by the fact the whole tournament was sold out within three days of the tickets being on sale.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 26-year existence, there have only been nine different winners: Phil Taylor, Rod Harrington, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Larry Butler, Rob Cross, Peter Evison, Colin Lloyd and James Wade. 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
The list of finals:Records and statistics
Total finalist appearances
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Won | Runner-up | Finals |
| 1 | Phil Taylor | 16 | 1 | 17 | |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Rod Harrington | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 4 | James Wade | 1 | 5 | 6 | |
| 5 | Gary Anderson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 6 | Larry Butler | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Peter Evison | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Colin Lloyd | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Rob Cross | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Dimitri Van den Bergh | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Dennis Priestley | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 12 | Alan Warriner | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 12 | John Part | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 12 | Terry Jenkins | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 15 | Ronnie Baxter | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Peter Manley | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Richie Burnett | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Wayne Mardle | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Mark Dudbridge | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Raymond van Barneveld | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Adrian Lewis | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Peter Wright | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Mensur Suljović | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Michael Smith | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- Active players are shown in bold
- Only players who reached the final are included
- In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by family name
Champions by country
Nine-dart finishes
Seven nine-dart finishes have been thrown at the World Matchplay. The first one was in 2002.| Player | Year | Method | Opponent | Result |
 Phil Taylor | 2002, Quarter-Finals | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Chris Mason | Won |
 Raymond van Barneveld | 2010, 1st Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Denis Ovens | Won |
 John Part | 2011, 1st Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 |  Mark Webster | Lost |
| Michael van Gerwen | 2012, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Steve Beaton | Won |
| Wes Newton | 2012, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 | Justin Pipe | Lost |
| Phil Taylor | 2014, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 | Michael Smith | Won |
 Gary Anderson | 2018, Quarter-Finals | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Joe Cullen | Won |
Tournament records
;Longest match in Matchplay history : The 2018 final went to 40 legs as a result of the format of "2 clear legs".;Longest unbeaten run : Phil Taylor from 2008–2015: Won 38 matches in a row. Taylor only lost eight matches in the history of the event:
- 1994 Bob Anderson 9–11
- 1996 Peter Evison 1–8
- 1998 Ronnie Baxter 10–13
- 1999 Peter Manley 14–17
- 2005 John Part 11–16
- 2007 Terry Jenkins 11–17
- 2015 James Wade 14–17
- 2016 Michael van Gerwen 10–18
Averages
An average of over 105 in a match in the World Matchplay has been achieved 34 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
- First Round: First to 8 legs
- Second Round: First to 8 legs
- Quarter Finals: First to 11 legs
- Semi Finals: First to 11 legs
- Final: First to 16 legs
1995–1996
- First Round: First to 8 legs
- Second Round: First to 8 legs
- Quarter Finals: First to 11 legs
- Semi Finals: First to 13 legs
- Final: First to 16 legs
1997
- Preliminary Round: First to 6 legs
- First Round: First to 8 legs
- Second Round: First to 8 legs
- Quarter Finals: First to 11 legs
- Semi Finals: First to 13 legs
- Final: First to 16 legs
1998
- First Round: First to 8 legs
- Second Round: First to 8 legs
- Quarter Finals: First to 13 legs
- Semi Finals: First to 13 legs
- Final: First to 18 legs
1999–2012
- First Round: First to 10 legs
- Second Round: First to 13 legs
- Quarter Finals: First to 16 legs
- Semi Finals: First to 17 legs
- Final: First to 18 legs
2013–2015
- First Round: First to 10 legs
- Second Round: First to 13 legs
- Quarter Finals: First to 16 legs
- Semi Finals: First to 17 legs
- Final: First to 18 legs
2016–present
- First Round: First to 10 legs
- Second Round: First to 11 legs
- Quarter Finals: First to 16 legs
- Semi Finals: First to 17 legs
- Final: First to 18 legs
Media coverage
Sponsors
There have been seven different sponsors for the World Matchplay:| Sponsor | Years |
| Proton Cars | 1994 |
| Webster's | 1995–1997 |
| No sponsor | 1998–1999 |
| Stan James | 2000–2010 |
| Skybet | 2011 |
| Betfair | 2012 |
| BetVictor | 2013–2018 |
| Betfred | 2019– |