World Matchplay (darts) explained

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 Littler is the current champion after winning the 2025 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 Littler.

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.^[1]

Over the course of the tournament's 31-year existence, there have been fourteen 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), Luke Littler (1), Colin Lloyd (1), Dimitri Van den Bergh (1), James Wade (1) and Peter Wright (1).

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

World Matchplay finals

Year	Champion (average in final)	Score	Runner-up (average in final)	Prize money			Sponsor	Venue
				Total	Champion	Runner-up
1994	Larry Butler (92.70)		Dennis Priestley (91.59)	£42,400	£10,000	£6,000		Winter Gardens, Blackpool
1995	Phil Taylor (90.72)	16–11	Dennis Priestley (87.63)	Webster's
1996	Peter Evison (100.51)	16–14	Dennis Priestley (96.67)		£46,000	£12,000	£7,000
1997	Phil Taylor (106.32)	16–11	Alan Warriner (98.42)		£6,000
1998	Rod Harrington (95.03)	19–17	Ronnie Baxter (94.07)	£58,000	£14,000	£7,000	PDC
1999	Rod Harrington (85.95)	19–17	Peter Manley (86.91)
2000	Phil Taylor (100.32)	18–12	Alan Warriner (97.14)	Stan James
2001	Phil Taylor (99.57)	18–10	Richie Burnett (90.99)		£65,000
2002	Phil Taylor (98.76)	18–16	John Part (94.14)		£75,500	£15,000	£7,500
2003	Phil Taylor (94.38)	18–12	Wayne Mardle (97.44)		£80,000	£8,000
2004	Phil Taylor (100.20)	18–8	Mark Dudbridge (89.24)		£100,000	£20,000	£10,000
2005	Colin Lloyd (97.89)	18–12	John Part (94.53)		£120,000	£25,000	£12,500
2006	Phil Taylor (100.08)	18–11	James Wade (90.01)		£150,000	£30,000	£15,000
2007	James Wade (96.83)	18–7	Terry Jenkins (91.62)		£200,000	£50,000	£20,000
2008	Phil Taylor (109.47)	18–9	James Wade (102.58)		£300,000	£60,000	£30,000
2009	Phil Taylor (106.05)	18–4	Terry Jenkins (92.32)		£400,000	£100,000	£50,000
2010	Phil Taylor (105.16)	18–12
2011	Phil Taylor (103.84)	18–8	James Wade (98.84)	Sky Bet
2012	Phil Taylor (98.97)	18–15	James Wade (95.92)	Betfair
2013	Phil Taylor (111.23)	18–13	Adrian Lewis (105.92)	BetVictor
2014	Phil Taylor (107.19)	18–9	Michael van Gerwen (101.49)		£450,000
2015	Michael van Gerwen (99.91)	18–12	James Wade (90.37)
2016	Michael van Gerwen (103.93)	18–10	Phil Taylor (101.13)
2017	Phil Taylor (104.24)	18–8	Peter Wright (99.74)		£500,000	£115,000	£55,000
2018	Gary Anderson (101.12)	21–19	Mensur Suljović (104.43)
2019	Rob Cross (95.16)	18–13	Michael Smith (95.91)	£700,000	£150,000	£70,000	Betfred
2020		18–10	Gary Anderson (92.81)
2021		18–9	Dimitri Van den Bergh (100.88)
2022		18–14	Gerwyn Price (96.92)		£800,000	£200,000		£100,000
2023		18–6
2024		18–15
2025		18–13

Records and statistics

Total finalist appearances

Rank	Player	Nationality	Won	Runner-up	Finals	Appearances
1	Phil Taylor		16	1	17	24
2	Michael van Gerwen		3	2	5	16
3	Rod Harrington		2	0	2	9
4	James Wade		1	6	7	20
5	Gary Anderson		1	1	2	16
	Dimitri Van den Bergh		1	1	2	5
	Peter Wright		1	1	2	14
8	Larry Butler		1	0	1	3
	Peter Evison		1	0	1	11
	Colin Lloyd		1	0	1	15
	Rob Cross		1	0	1	8
	Nathan Aspinall		1	0	1	6
	Luke Humphries		1	0	1	4
	Luke Littler		1	0	1	2
15	Dennis Priestley		0	3	3	17
16	Alan Warriner		0	2	2	14
	John Part		0	2	2	15
	Terry Jenkins		0	2	2	13
19	Ronnie Baxter		0	1	1	17
	Peter Manley		0	1	1	13
	Richie Burnett		0	1	1	9
	Wayne Mardle		0	1	1	7
	Mark Dudbridge		0	1	1	8
	Raymond van Barneveld		0	1	1	14
	Adrian Lewis		0	1	1	17
	Mensur Suljović		0	1	1	7
	Michael Smith		0	1	1	12
	Gerwyn Price		0	1	1	10
	Jonny Clayton		0	1	1	7

• Active players are shown in bold
• Only players who reached the final are included
• In the event of identical records, players are sorted by date first achieved

Champions by country

Country	Players	Total	First title	Last title
	9	25	1995	2025
Netherlands	1	3	2015	2022
	2	2	2018	2021
United States	1	1	1994	1994
Belgium	1	1	2020	2020

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.

Player	Year (+ Round)	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
Gerwyn Price	2022, Semi-Finals	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12	Danny Noppert	Won
Dimitri Van den Bergh	2024, 1st Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12	Martin Schindler	Won
Luke Littler	2025, Semi-Finals	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D15	Josh Rock	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 to 2015: Won 38 matches in a row. Taylor only lost eight matches in the history of the event:

• 1994 Bob Anderson 9–11 (tiebreak, second round)
• 1996 Peter Evison 1–8 (second round)
• 1998 Ronnie Baxter 10–13 (quarter-finals)
• 1999 Peter Manley 14–17 (semi-finals)
• 2005 John Part 11–16 (quarter-finals)
• 2007 Terry Jenkins 11–17 (semi-finals)
• 2015 James Wade 14–17 (semi-finals)
• 2016 Michael van Gerwen 10–18 (Final)

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.

Ten highest PDC World Matchplay one-match averages[4]
Average	Player	Year (+ Round)	Opponent	Result
114.99	Phil Taylor	2010, Last 32	Barrie Bates	10–6
113.43	Phil Taylor	1997, Last 32	Gary Mawson	8–0
112.17	Phil Taylor	2002, Quarter-Final	Chris Mason	16–7
111.23	Phil Taylor	2013, Final	Adrian Lewis	18–13
110.93	Michael van Gerwen	2015, Last 16	Jamie Lewis	13–2
110.51	Adrian Lewis	2014, Last 32	Andrew Gilding	10–0
110.37	Peter Wright	2021, Semi-Final	Michael van Gerwen	17–10
109.71	Phil Taylor	2008, Last 16	Colin Osborne	13–5
109.47	Phil Taylor	2008, Final	James Wade	18–9
109.47	Phil Taylor	2009, Last 16	Kevin Painter	13–3

Five highest losing averages
Average	Player	Year (+ Round)	Opponent	Result
105.92	Adrian Lewis	2013, Final	Phil Taylor	13–18
105.68	Gary Anderson	2014, Semi-Final	Phil Taylor	15–17
105.17	Gary Anderson	2017, Last 16	Daryl Gurney	9–11
104.57	Peter Wright	2019, Quarter-Final	Daryl Gurney	13–16
104.43	Mensur Suljović	2018, Final	Gary Anderson	19–21

Different players with a 100+ match average (Updated 26/07/25)
Player	Total	Highest Av.	Year (+ Round)
Phil Taylor	62	114.99	2010, Last 32
Michael van Gerwen	20	110.93	2015, Last 16
Peter Wright	15	110.37	2021, Semi-Final
Gary Anderson	11	106.06	2018, Semi-Final
James Wade	11	104.44	2025, Last 32
Adrian Lewis	9	110.51	2014, Last 32
Luke Humphries	7	108.76	2024, Last 32
Gerwyn Price	7	108.73	2025, Last 16
Rob Cross	7	106.99	2024, Last 16
Dimitri Van den Bergh	6	103.68	2021, Last 16
Luke Littler	4	108.92	2025, Last 32
Michael Smith	4	102.08	2024, Last 32
Ryan Searle	3	105.19	2023, Last 32
Daryl Gurney	3	104.43	2023, Last 16
	3	104.32	2025, Last 32
Raymond van Barneveld	3	103.86	2010, Last 16
Jonny Clayton	3	101.90	2023, Last 16
Mervyn King	3	101.06	2014, Last 32
Krzysztof Ratajski	2	107.53	2020, Last 32
Glen Durrant	2	106.93	2020, Last 32
Mensur Suljović	2	104.43	2018, Final
Peter Evison	2	103.77	1996, Last 16
Ian White	2	103.51	2015, Last 32
Dave Chisnall	2	103.02	2018, Last 16
Stephen Bunting	2	102.48	2016, Last 32
Danny Noppert	2	102.36	2022, Last 16
Andrew Gilding	2	101.82	2025, Last 32
Steve Beaton	2	100.98	2011, Last 32
Damon Heta	2	100.93	2024, Last 32
Joe Cullen	2	100.67	2023, Last 32
Dirk van Duijvenbode	1	103.61	2022, Last 32
Martin Schindler	1	103.45	2025, Last 32
José de Sousa	1	103.26	2022, Last 16
Jeffrey de Zwaan	1	103.22	2018, Quarter-Final
Nathan Aspinall	1	102.96	2019, Last 32
Colin Lloyd	1	102.57	2005, Last 16
Shayne Burgess	1	102.03	1999, Last 16
Andy Hamilton	1	101.88	2006, Semi-Final
Wessel Nijman	1	101.72	2025, Last 32
Alan Warriner-Little	1	101.55	1997, Quarter-Final
John Henderson	1	101.33	2019, Last 32
Cristo Reyes	1	101.29	2017, Last 32
Rod Harrington	1	101.22	1997, Last 32
Jamie Hughes	1	101.13	2020, Last 32
Kevin Painter	1	101.01	2009, Last 32
Gian van Veen	1	100.81	2024, Last 32
Ricardo Pietreczko	1	100.74	2024, Last 32
Mark Walsh	1	100.41	2008, Last 32

Five highest tournament averages
Average	Player	Year
106.31	Phil Taylor	2010
105.81	Phil Taylor	2013
105.73	Phil Taylor	2009
105.50	Phil Taylor	2011
105.12	Luke Littler	2025

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.

Year	Round 1	Round 2	Quarters	Semis	Final	Notes
1994	8	8	11	11	16	Must win by 2 clear legs
1995–1996				13
1997						Preliminary round: First to 6 legs All rounds: Must win by 2 clear legs
1998			13		18	Must win by 2 clear legs
1999–2012	10	13	16	17
2013–2015						Must win by 2 clear legs Sudden death after 6 extra legs
2016–present		11

Women's World Matchplay

Since 2022, the PDC have held a Women's event on the Sunday afternoon before the main event final. The winner qualifies for the World Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts.

Year	Champion (average in final)	Score	Runner-up (average in final)	Prize money			Sponsor	Venue
				Total	Champion	Runner-up
2022		6–3		£25,000	£10,000	£5,000	Betfred	Winter Gardens, Blackpool
2023		6–1
2024		6–3
2025		6–5

Media coverage

The World Matchplay has been broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports since the first tournament.^[5]

External links

• World Matchplay page on the PDC website
• World Matchplay on Darts Database

Notes and References

1. Web site: News PDC . pdc.tv . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130623093853/http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/bgb4ol0qkjjl1v2he76at5dpc/title/betvictor-world-matchplay-rule-change . 23 June 2013.
2. Web site: Taylor Receives World Matchplay Honour. https://web.archive.org/web/20180102132300/https://www.pdc.tv/news/2018/01/02/taylor-receives-world-matchplay-honour. dead. 2 January 2018. PDC. en.
3. Web site: Phillips. Josh . Betfred World Matchplay to take place behind closed doors . https://web.archive.org/web/20200701184547/https://www.pdc.tv/news/2020/07/01/betfred-world-matchplay-take-place-behind-closed-doors . dead . 1 July 2020 . . 1 July 2020.
4. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournKey=11 dartsdatabase.co.uk
5. Web site: PDC & Sky Sports Extend Partnership. https://web.archive.org/web/20130726231349/http://www.pdc.tv/world-matchplay/article/1qsi8qnc93gmp16dflguuqtlx0/title/pdc--sky-sports-extend-partnership. dead. 26 July 2013. Professional Darts Corporation. 28 July 2013.