WORLD MATCHPLAY 2025
What, When and Where is the 2025 World Matchplay?
The 2025 World Matchplay will take place from the 19th to the 27th of July at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England.
The event is a ranked leg-play PDC major, which is regarded by many players and fans as the second most prestigious tournament, only behind the World Championship. This prestige is due to the high-class of the field and long format games.
This will be the 32nd staging of the World Matchplay, all but one of which have taken place at the Empress Ballroom in the Winter Gardens, which has become one of the sport’s most iconic venues.
Luke Humphries was crowned the 2024 winner of the World Matchplay. Photo: Getty Images
World Matchplay Darts has Triple Crown Status
Alongside the World Championship and Premier League, the World Matchplay makes up darts’ Triple Crown, a set of the three biggest events, which only four players have won.
Luke Humphries became the most recent after picking up this year’s Premier League and will be joined in the draw by fellow winners Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson.
Superstar Luke Littler could complete the Triple Crown with a World Matchplay victory this year, as could Raymond van Barneveld, who hasn’t won a major in over a decade.
What is the Format and Session Plan of the World Matchplay?
Like many other tournaments, all games are played using leg-play, but the number of legs required to win matches in each round is much higher than in other events. In addition to this, games must be won by two clear legs, unless six extra legs have had to be played, at which point a sudden-death leg is played.
The first round is the best of 19, and the second round is the best of 21, comparable to the latter stages of other less-prestigious majors. The quarterfinals are then best of 31, the semis best of 33 and the final best of 35.
What is the Prize Fund?
The prize fund is £800,000, with £200,000 and the Phil Taylor trophy going to the winner.
Who Has Qualified for the World Matchplay?
The tournament features the top 16 players from the main PDC Order of Merit, who make up the 16 seeds, and the top 16 from the Pro Tour Order of Merit.
This year, the cut-off date was the 10th of July, with the most notable absentee being 2023 World Champion Michael Smith, who had played in every edition since 2014.
The 16 seeds have all appeared in the event before, while Cameron Menzies and Wessel Nijman are the only two Pro Tour qualifiers making their World Matchplay debuts.
Who are the Seeds?
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Luke Humphries – looking for his tenth PDC major title
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Luke Littler – looking to complete the Triple Crown
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Michael van Gerwen – 47-time major winner, but hasn’t won a ranked one since 2022
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Stephen Bunting – has four finals in five events on this year’s World Series
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Jonny Clayton – has won both a Euro Tour and Players Championship event this year
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Chris Dobey – has reached three finals and won two titles on the floor this season
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Damon Heta – won a title at the most recent block of Players Championships
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Nathan Aspinall – won his first two Euro Tour titles this year
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James Wade – has appeared in every World Matchplay since 2006
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Rob Cross – won this year’s Dutch Masters and reached the Nordic Masters final
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Gerwyn Price – won the most recent World Series event in Poland
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Dave Chisnall – appeared in every Matchplay since 2011 but never made the semis
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Gary Anderson – has won both a Euro Tour and Players Championship event this year
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Ross Smith – won a Players Championship event in May
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Peter Wright – has only won one title since 2023
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Danny Noppert – looking for his first stage title since his 2022 UK Open win
Betting Tips and Odds for the 2025 World Matchplay
Finally Price’s Time Again?
Fresh off stage title wins in Poland and Germany, Gerwyn Price is the best option in the outright market away from the two Lukes, and is at 8/1 to win his first ranked major since 2021.
Clayton to Make the Last Four?
Despite having Gary Anderson and Stephen Bunting in his quarter, Jonny Clayton’s recent form means that 5/1 is good value for him to win the second quarter and reach the semi-finals in Blackpool for a second time.
Van Veen to Cause a Shock on Opening Night?
While the number one seed rarely loses in round one in Blackpool, Gian van Veen is due a big result on TV and can beat anyone on his day, including Luke Humphries, an outcome which is currently priced at 7/4.
Odds correct at the time of publishing.
What is the First Round Draw of the World Matchplay and what are the Odds?
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Luke Humphries (1) vs Gian van Veen
The top seed has only lost in the first round of the Matchplay three times, but the bookies have van Veen at 15/8 to make it four.
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Danny Noppert (16) vs Cameron Menzies
This is a tough one to call, with 2022 semi-finalist Noppert the slight favourite at 10/11 to beat debutant Menzies.
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Nathan Aspinall (8) vs Wessel Nijman
2023 winner Aspinall is an 13/20 favourite against debutant Nijman, who has yet to show his full explosive ability on a TV stage.
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James Wade (9) vs Joe Cullen
2007 winner Wade is the 4/7 favourite to beat an out-of-form Joe Cullen in the first game of the opening night.
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Stephen Bunting (4) vs Ryan Joyce
Bunting, who has lost in round one in seven of his 10 Blackpool appearances, is the big favourite to win at 3/10.
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Gary Anderson (13) vs Luke Woodhouse
Last year, 2018 winner Anderson lost in the first round for only the fourth time since his debut in 2009, but he is a 3/10 favourite to avoid making that five.
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Jonny Clayton (5) vs Martin Schindler
Clayton, who reached the final in 2023 despite tough personal circumstances, is a 4/6 favourite to win a tough tie against top Pro Tour qualifier Schindler.
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Dave Chisnall (12) vs Mike De Decker
This is a game where the bookies predict the seeded player to lose, with the reigning World Grand Prix Champion de Decker at 8/11 to beat Chizzy.
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Luke Littler (2) vs Ryan Searle
Littler lost in the first round on his Matchplay debut last year, but is a big favourite at 3/19 against Searle this time around.
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Peter Wright (15) vs Jermaine Wattimena
The bookies think this will be tight but are predicting the in-form but unseeded Dutchman Wattimena to beat 2021 winner Wright, priced at 4/6.
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Damon Heta (7) vs Andrew Gilding
Heta has lost in round one in three of his four appearances but is a 2/5 favourite to beat former UK Open Champion Gilding.
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Rob Cross (10) vs Dirk van Duijvenbode
Another tough one to call, the bookies have made 2019 winner Cross the 4/5 favourite to beat van Duijvenbode, who didn’t qualify last year due to injury.
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Michael van Gerwen (3) vs Raymond van Barneveld
A throwback to many legendary ties, MVG is a 4/9 favourite to beat his legendary compatriot van Barneveld, who lost in round one in the previous two years.
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Ross Smith (14) vs Josh Rock
This is another game where the non-seed is in much more form than the seed, and the bookies make recent World Cup winner Rock the favourite at 7/10.
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Chris Dobey (6) vs Ricardo Pietreczko
Dobey has struggled on the doubles in big TV ties over the last few years, but is a 3/1 favourite to beat Pietreczko, who lost his debut game last year.
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Gerwyn Price (11) vs Daryl Gurney
Gurney won the World Cup alongside Rock in June, but the bookies have recent Poland Masters winner Price as a 2/5 favourite to win this tie.
Backing a Nine-Darter? The most Hit Nine-Darters and Highest Averages in the Event:
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Van den Bergh hit the tournament’s ninth nine-darter against Martin Schindler in last year’s first round.
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Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld have also hit one and are in this year’s event.
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The other four came from John Part, Wes Newton and Phil Taylor, the only player to have hit two in the event so far.
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Taylor also has the four highest averages in the event’s history, the best at 114.99, and the top five highest tournament-winning averages.
Who are the Past Winners of the World Matchplay?
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Legendary 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor also won the World Matchplay a record 16 times, and since retiring, has had the trophy named after him.
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Michael van Gerwen, this year’s third seed, is the second most successful player in the event, winning the title back-to-back in 2015 and 2016, and then in 2022.
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Luke Humphries is the defending champion, having beaten van Gerwen 18-15 in last year’s final to win his fifth PDC major title.
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One-time winners Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall, James Wade, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright are also among the seeds.
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2020 winner Dimitri van den Bergh, the winner of the only World Matchplay held away from Blackpool, has failed to qualify.
