2018 World Matchplay

The 2018 BetVictor World Matchplay was the 25th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, from 21–29 July 2018.

2018 BetVictor World Matchplay
Tournament information
Dates21–29 July 2018
VenueWinter Gardens
LocationBlackpool, England
Organisation(s)Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)
FormatLegs
Prize fund£500,000
Winner's share£115,000
Nine-dart finishScotland Gary Anderson
High checkout170 England Joe Cullen (x2)
170 Scotland Peter Wright
Champion(s)
Scotland Gary Anderson
«2017 2019»

Phil Taylor was the defending champion, after defeating Peter Wright 18–8 in the 2017 final to claim his 16th World Matchplay title, but he retired following the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship final. For the first time, the winner of the tournament, (Gary Anderson) received the Phil Taylor Trophy, which was renamed in his honour in January 2018.[1]

Gary Anderson hit a nine dart finish in the fourth leg of his quarter-final match against Joe Cullen, which was the seventh nine-dart finish in the World Matchplay and the first since 2014. Anderson overcame Cullen 19–17, facing two match darts against him at 14–15 scoreline.

Anderson went on to win his first World Matchplay title, defeating Mensur Suljović, 21–19 after extra time in the longest final in the tournament's history.[2]

The first round match between Kim Huybrechts and John Henderson made a piece of World Matchplay history, as it was the first time that a match was won by a single leg since the 1997 3rd place play-off. Huybrechts won the match 13–12 in a sudden-death leg, the first time the rule had been needed since it was introduced in 2013.

For the first time in World Matchplay history, no Englishmen progressed into the semi-finals, resulting in a first Matchplay final without an English player.

Prize money

The prize fund remained at £500,000, with the winner's earnings being £115,000. Gary Anderson received £45,000 for hitting a nine-dart finish in his quarter-final against Joe Cullen.

Position (no. of players) Prize money
(Total: £500,000)
Winner (1) £115,000
Runner-up (1) £55,000
Semi-finalists (2) £30,000
Quarter-finalists (4) £17,500
Second round (8) £11,000
First round (16) £7,000
Nine-dart finish (1) £45,000

Format

In previous stagings of the event all games had to be won by two clear legs with no sudden-death legs. However, after consulting the host broadcaster Sky Sports in 2013, the PDC decided that games will now only proceed for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie-break leg is required. For example, in a best of 19 legs first round match, if the score reaches 12–12 then the 25th leg will be the decider.

Qualification

The top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit as of 2 July 2018 were seeded for the tournament. The top 16 players on the ProTour Order of Merit not to have already qualified were unseeded.

The following players qualified for the tournament:

Draw
First round (best of 19 legs)
21–23 July
[3][4][5] 		Second round (best of 21 legs)
24–25 July
[6][7] 		Quarter-finals (best of 31 legs)
26–27 July
[8][9] 		Semi-finals (best of 33 legs)
28 July
[10] 		Final (best of 35 legs)
29 July
[11]
               
1 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 97.88 6
Netherlands Jeffrey de Zwaan 94.42 10
Netherlands Jeffrey de Zwaan 98.99 11
16 England Adrian Lewis 103.86 9
16 England Adrian Lewis 93.61 10
England James Wilson 87.72 8
Netherlands Jeffrey de Zwaan 103.22 16
8 England Dave Chisnall 99.05 8
8 England Dave Chisnall 94.09 10
England Keegan Brown 76.62 4
8 England Dave Chisnall 103.02 11
9 England Michael Smith 98.11 8
9 England Michael Smith 97.43 10
Wales Jonny Clayton 84.06 6
Netherlands Jeffrey de Zwaan 99.12 12
4 Scotland Gary Anderson 106.06 17
5 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 89.19 12
England Steve West 91.79 10
5 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 87.69 3
England Joe Cullen 99.65 11
12 Wales Gerwyn Price 90.23 3
England Joe Cullen 91.39 10
England Joe Cullen 95.26 17
4 Scotland Gary Anderson 97.13 19
4 Scotland Gary Anderson 96.66 10
England Stephen Bunting 86.21 7
4 Scotland Gary Anderson 104.17 11
13 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 95.29 9
13 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 90.67 10
Australia Kyle Anderson 90.69 6
4 Scotland Gary Anderson 101.12 21
6 Austria Mensur Suljović 104.43 19
2 Scotland Peter Wright 89.28 10
Netherlands Jelle Klaasen 84.36 5
2 Scotland Peter Wright 105.60 11
15 Belgium Kim Huybrechts 96.16 5
15 Belgium Kim Huybrechts 94.17 13
Scotland John Henderson 91.00 12
2 Scotland Peter Wright 101.35 16
7 Australia Simon Whitlock 96.14 5
7 Australia Simon Whitlock 88.20 10
England Richard North 80.40 2
7 Australia Simon Whitlock 93.96 11
10 England James Wade 90.88 7
10 England James Wade 89.60 12
Netherlands Jermaine Wattimena 87.63 10
2 Scotland Peter Wright 88.68 13
6 Austria Mensur Suljović 90.16 17
6 Austria Mensur Suljović 93.00 10
England Steve Beaton 90.92 6
6 Austria Mensur Suljović 97.21 11
11 England Ian White 93.51 8
11 England Ian White 92.58 10
Germany Max Hopp 90.51 7
6 Austria Mensur Suljović 98.03 16
14 England Darren Webster 95.70 10
3 England Rob Cross 98.58 10
England Mervyn King 91.85 5
3 England Rob Cross 98.81 8
14 England Darren Webster 93.39 11
14 England Darren Webster 91.95 10
Republic of Ireland Steve Lennon 91.00 6

Statistics
Player Eliminated Played Legs Won Legs Lost 100+ 140+ 180s High checkout 3-dart average Checkout success
Scotland Gary Anderson Winner 5 78 64 169 96 52 152 100.88 36.45%
Austria Mensur Suljović Final 5 73 58 173 108 35 151 97.16 40.56%
Netherlands Jeffrey de Zwaan Semi-finals 4 49 40 106 68 23 140 99.12 42.86%
Scotland Peter Wright Semi-finals 4 50 32 108 73 11 170 88.68 37.14%
England Dave Chisnall Quarter-finals 3 29 28 58 38 21 148 99.05 47.06%
Australia Simon Whitlock Quarter-finals 3 26 25 58 26 15 132 96.14 38.46%
England Darren Webster Quarter-finals 3 31 30 89 45 11 138 95.70 41.67%
England Joe Cullen Quarter-finals 3 38 25 77 39 10 170 95.26 41.46%
England Adrian Lewis Second round 2 19 19 44 16 6 121 103.86 40.91%
England Rob Cross Second round 2 18 19 39 28 9 156 98.81 27.59%
England Michael Smith Second round 2 22 20 35 24 14 110 98.11 40.00%
Belgium Kim Huybrechts Second round 2 16 23 40 27 12 156 96.16 33.33%
Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld Second round 2 19 17 39 15 9 130 95.29 69.23%
England Ian White Second round 2 18 18 44 22 12 154 93.51 50.00%
England James Wade Second round 2 19 21 64 29 4 149 90.88 24.14%
Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney Second round 2 15 21 52 16 4 100 87.69 25.00%
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen First round 1 6 10 16 8 6 100 97.88 35.29%
England Mervyn King First round 1 5 10 15 9 5 72 91.85 41.67%
England Steve West First round 1 10 12 23 18 6 108 91.79 31.25%
Scotland John Henderson First round 1 12 13 30 13 3 114 91.00 52.17%
Republic of Ireland Steve Lennon First round 1 6 10 24 10 2 124 91.00 37.50%
England Steve Beaton First round 1 6 10 24 11 1 120 90.92 46.15%
Australia Kyle Anderson First round 1 6 10 14 9 5 90 90.69 33.33%
Germany Max Hopp First round 1 7 10 23 16 1 80 90.51 46.67%
Wales Gerwyn Price First round 1 3 10 8 5 5 99 90.23 23.08%
England James Wilson First round 1 8 10 19 12 2 86 87.72 44.44%
Netherlands Jermaine Wattimena First round 1 10 12 24 16 1 113 87.63 29.41%
England Stephen Bunting First round 1 7 10 8 11 3 110 86.21 46.67%
Netherlands Jelle Klaasen First round 1 5 10 13 7 1 40 84.36 31.25%
Wales Jonny Clayton First round 1 6 10 15 8 3 154 84.06 54.55%
England Richard North First round 1 2 10 8 10 1 80 80.40 50.00%
England Keegan Brown First round 1 4 10 14 3 1 109 76.62 33.33%

Source: Match reports from the draw.

References
  1. "World Matchplay: Phil Taylor beats Peter Wright to win 16th title". BBC Sport. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  2. "World Matchplay: Gary Anderson wins thrilling final". PDC. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  3. "BetVictor World Matchplay Day One". PDC. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  4. "BetVictor World Matchplay Day Two". PDC. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  5. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Three". PDC. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Four". PDC. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  7. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Five". PDC. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  8. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Six". PDC. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  9. "BetVictor World Matchplay Night Seven". PDC. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  10. "BetVictor World Matchplay Semi-finals". PDC. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  11. "BetVictor World Matchplay Final". PDC. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
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