2025 World Matchplay

2025 Betfred World Matchplay
Tournament information
Dates19–27 July 2025
VenueWinter Gardens
LocationBlackpool, England
Organisation(s)Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)
FormatLegs
Prize fund£800,000
Winner's share£200,000
High checkout170 Gerwyn Price
«2024 2026»

The 2025 World Matchplay (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025 Betfred World Matchplay) is an ongoing professional darts tournament that is being held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England, from 19 to 27 July 2025. It is the 32nd staging of the World Matchplay by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The total prize fund is £800,000, with the winner receiving £200,000. The fourth edition of the Women's World Matchplay will also take place on 27 July.[1]

The tournament, sponsored by Betfred, features 32 players: the top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit and the top 16 players from the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit who had not yet qualified. Cameron Menzies and Wessel Nijman made their debuts at the event. Michael Smith missed out on qualification for the first time since the 2013 edition, while James Wade qualified for the 20th consecutive time.

Luke Humphries was the defending champion, having defeated Michael van Gerwen 18–15 in the 2024 final. However, he lost 10–8 to Gian van Veen in the first round.

Overview

Background

The Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England, while fully lit.
The tournament is being held in the Empress Ballroom (pictured in 2016) at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

The 2025 World Matchplay is the 32nd edition of the tournament to be staged by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since the 1994 event.[2] Held annually at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England, with the exception of 2020,[3] the inaugural champion was Larry Butler, who remains the only American to win a PDC major title; he defeated Dennis Priestley 16–12 in an upset victory in the final.[4][5] In 2018, the World Matchplay trophy was renamed to the Phil Taylor Trophy, in honour of the sixteen-time champion who retired from professional darts following the 2018 World Championship.[6]

The 2025 edition is taking place from 19 to 27 July 2025 in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens.[7] British bookmaker Betfred continued its sponsorship of the event, extending its partnership with the PDC until 2030.[8] Luke Humphries entered the tournament as defending champion after defeating Michael van Gerwen 18–15 in the 2024 final to win his first World Matchplay title,[9][10] and looked to become the fourth player to retain the title after Taylor, Van Gerwen and Rod Harrington.[11] Humphries and Luke Littler were considered favourites to win the tournament, with Sky Sports pundits also naming Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall as likely contenders.[12]

Format

The top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit were seeded, and were drawn to compete against the 16 qualifiers from the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit in the first round.[13] All matches are in leg play format. All matches have to be won by two clear legs; if the scores are tied and the players cannot be separated after an additional six legs, the match will be decided by a sudden death leg.[14]

The number of legs required to win increases as the tournament progresses:[13][14]

  • First round: Best of 19 legs (sudden death at 12–12)
  • Second round: Best of 21 legs (sudden death at 13–13)
  • Quarter-finals: Best of 31 legs (sudden death at 18–18)
  • Semi-finals: Best of 33 legs (sudden death at 19–19)
  • Final: Best of 35 legs (sudden death at 20–20)

Prize money

The prize fund remained at £800,000, with £200,000 going to the winner.[2][15] The winner will also receive the Phil Taylor Trophy.

Position (no. of players) Prize money
(Total: £800,000)
Winner (1) £200,000
Runner-up (1) £100,000
Semi-finalists (2) £50,000
Quarter-finalists (4) £30,000
Second round (8) £15,000
First round (16) £10,000

Broadcasts

The tournament is being broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Other broadcasters include DAZN in Germany, Austria and Switzerland; Peacock in the United States; FanDuel in the United States and Canada; Fox Sports in Australia; Sky Sport in New Zealand; Viaplay in the Netherlands, Iceland and Scandinavia; L'Équipe in France; VTM in Belgium; Nova in Czechia and Slovakia; and Sport1 in Hungary. It is also available on the PDC's streaming service, PDCTV, to international subscribers.[16]

Qualification

Luke Humphries at a Premier League Darts event, facing straight forward and looking upwards.
Luke Humphries (pictured) was the defending champion and number one seed going into the tournament.

The top 16 players on the two-year PDC Order of Merit at the cut-off point on 10 July were seeded for the tournament. The top 16 players on the one-year PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit, not to have already qualified through the main ranking, were unseeded.[17]

Michael Smith, who won the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship and was runner-up at the 2019 World Matchplay, did not qualify for the event for the first time since the 2013 edition.[18] Among other notable players to not qualify were 2020 champion Dimitri Van den Bergh, 2021 semi-finalist Krzysztof Ratajski and 2024 European Championship winner Ritchie Edhouse.[19] Cameron Menzies and Wessel Nijman made their World Matchplay debuts, while 2007 champion James Wade is making his 20th consecutive appearance at the event.[14]

The following players qualified for the tournament:[19]

Summary

First round

Gian van Veen at a 2025 World Matchplay press conference, sitting in front of a panel with logos.
Gian van Veen (pictured) eliminated defending champion Luke Humphries.

The first round (best of 19 legs) began on 19 July, where the last two World Matchplay champions were defeated in their opening match.[20] Top seed and defending champion Luke Humphries was eliminated, going out in an upset loss to Gian van Veen. Humphries took a 3–2 lead early on by hitting a 146 checkout, but Van Veen would eventually break Humphries's throw to go 8–7 ahead, before winning the match 10–8 after several missed match darts. In his post-match interview, Van Veen told Sky Sports that knocking out the defending champion was the "biggest win" of his career.[21][22] 2023 champion Nathan Aspinall also suffered an early exit by losing to debutant Wessel Nijman 10–6. Nijman stated that the win was "probably more special" than winning his first match at Alexandra Palace during the 2025 World Championship.[21] 2007 champion James Wade, making his 20th consecutive appearance at the event, recorded his highest World Matchplay three-dart average (104) in his 10–3 victory over Joe Cullen, while Danny Noppert defeated debutant Cameron Menzies 10–2; a match that included Menzies busting 178 by hitting a 180.[21][22]

Andrew Gilding at a 2025 World Matchplay press conference, sitting in front of a panel with logos
Damon Heta being interviewed at the 2025 PDC World Masters, standing in front of a panel with logos
Andrew Gilding (left) and Damon Heta's (right) first-round match was the first of the tournament to go to a tiebreaker.

All four seeds that competed in the afternoon session on Sunday 20 July were eliminated.[23] Former champions Rob Cross (10th seed) and Peter Wright (15th seed) lost to Dirk van Duijvenbode and Jermaine Wattimena respectively.[23][24] 7th seed Damon Heta and former UK Open winner Andrew Gilding were the first pairing of the tournament to go to a tiebreaker; Gilding, who missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish, eventually won 12–10. 12th seed Dave Chisnall was also beaten, losing 10–7 to World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, who hit a 148 checkout to secure victory.[25]

Reigning world champion Luke Littler, who lost in his World Matchplay debut to Michael van Gerwen at the previous year's event, achieved his first win at the tournament by defeating Ryan Searle 10–2 with an average of nearly 109. He disclosed that he was putting "hours and hours" of his time into practising at home, saying that he was "glad it's paid off".[23][24] 2018 champion Gary Anderson advanced with a 10–5 win over Luke Woodhouse, who hit a high checkout of 167.[23] Stephen Bunting defeated Ryan Joyce 10–8 in a rematch of their 2024 meeting, while 2023 runner-up Jonny Clayton beat Martin Schindler 10–7.[25]

Three-time champion Van Gerwen reached the second round by defeating compatriot Raymond van Barneveld 10–6, but expressed dissatisfaction with his performance, stating: "I think in only one leg he had the darts on the double before me and I should have taken advantage of that." He added: "I think this could be the start of something really nice."[26] Gerwyn Price beat Daryl Gurney 10–7, with the pair sharing an aggressive handshake and exchanging words after the match's conclusion, stemming from Gurney imitating Price's passionate celebrations after winning a leg.[27][28] Gurney's World Cup-winning teammate Josh Rock claimed his first win at the World Matchplay in a 10–5 victory over Ross Smith, avenging his loss to Smith the previous year and hitting a 167 checkout in the process. Chris Dobey made the second round for the fourth consecutive year by beating Ricardo Pietreczko 10–5.[29]

Second round

Luke Littler throwing a dart at a 2025 Premier League Darts event
Luke Littler (pictured) completed a comeback from 7–2 down to defeat Jermaine Wattimena 13–11.

The second round (best of 21 legs) was played on 22 and 23 July.[30] Gary Anderson won four consecutive legs to force a tiebreaker against Stephen Bunting at 10–10, but Bunting won the next two legs to triumph 12–10 and advance to the quarter-finals of the event for the second time. Bunting, who missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish in the 15th leg, revealed that he felt nervous playing "a legend of the sport", labelling Anderson "one of the best players to grace the stages".[31] James Wade landed checkouts of 126, 121 and 108 on his way to defeating Wessel Nijman 11–5. Critical of his performance, Wade commented: "Wessel made a few mistakes, and I was fortunate he didn’t play how he can."[30] Jonny Clayton set up a meeting with Bunting by beating Mike De Decker 11–8, while Gian van Veen continued his run in an 11–5 victory over Danny Noppert to set up a tie against Wade.[32]

Jermaine Wattimena raced into a 4–0 lead against Luke Littler in the opening session of their match. Littler won the next two legs but found himself trailing 7–2 as the Dutchman took the next three. Littler won six legs in a row to take charge and lead 8–7, before the match entered a tiebreak situation at 10–10. Littler went on to hit his preferred double 10 and complete a 13–11 comeback victory.[33] In his post-match interview, he proclaimed that he was "a world champion for a reason" and admitted that he had "not felt pressure like that since the first round of the world championships." The win extended Littler's unbeaten record against Wattimena to 5–0.[34] The match between Josh Rock and Michael van Gerwen also required extra legs to decide a winner. Van Gerwen opened the contest with a 150 checkout to break Rock's throw and initially led 5–1.[34] However, at 9–6, Van Gerwen missed opportunities to extend his lead and allowed Rock to win four consecutive legs and take control for the first time, a run of legs that included a 152 checkout.[35] Van Gerwen landed a 138 finish to level the score at 10–10 and send the match to a tiebreaker, but Rock pinned double 16 to win 13–11 and eliminate the three-time champion.[34] Rock commented that his heart was "pumping throughout the whole game" and called the match "one of the best games" he had been involved in.[35] Gerwyn Price recorded a three-dart average of 108.73 and hit eight 180s in a dominant 11–3 victory over Chris Dobey; he took pride in his performance by saying: "The middle part of the game I felt like I couldn't miss." Andrew Gilding reached a second successive World Matchplay quarter-final by beating Dirk van Duijvenbode 11–5.[36]

Quarter-finals

Gerwyn Price throwing a dart at a 2025 Premier League Darts event
Gerwyn Price (pictured) achieved the first 170 checkout of the tournament.

The quarter-finals (best of 31 legs) were played on 24 and 25 July.[37] 42-year-old James Wade, appearing in his 13th World Matchplay quarter-final,[30] faced 23-year-old Gian van Veen in the round's opening match; Wade competed in his first televised match at the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship, eight months after Van Veen was born.[38] In the opening session, Wade uncharacteristically missed his first 11 attempts at double, allowing Van Veen to break his throw twice and take a 4–1 lead.[37][39] The second session commenced and Wade showed drastic improvement as he won the next eight legs to gain control of the match.[40] Van Veen put Wade under pressure by finding another break of throw in the 23rd leg to reduce the gap to 13–11,[39] but the Dutchman squandered darts at double 16 in the 25th leg to close the distance even more.[37] Wade seized his opportunities and converted a double 10 finish to win the match 16–13,[39] despite a lower three-dart average and checkout success rate.[40] Wade said that he felt "disgusted" with himself at certain points of the contest and believed it was "God's gift" rather than his own ability that secured him the victory.[39] Fifth seed Jonny Clayton began his match with fourth seed Stephen Bunting by going 5–0 in front while averaging 110 for the session, including a 160 checkout in the third leg.[38] They traded legs in the second session to bring the score to 10–5.[39] Bunting reduced the deficit to 11–7 but failed to add onto his total, as Clayton landed 118, 108 and back-to-back 76 finishes on his way to defeating Bunting 16–7.[37] Clayton pinned half of his attempts at double over the course of the match.[40] He admitted that he "didn't expect to be 5-0 ahead" but said that he was "so pleased to get over that finish line".[38]

In the third quarter-final match, second seed Luke Littler faced Andrew Gilding, who previously defeated Littler at the 2024 European Championship.[41] The contest began with seven consecutive holds of throw, but Littler soon established a three-leg buffer.[42] He edged closer to victory by extending his lead to 12–8 and 14–9.[43] However, Gilding found his way back into the match with checkouts of 124, 72 on the bullseye, and 160 to reduce the deficit to 14–12.[44] One leg away from a potential tiebreaker at 15–14, Littler won the next leg in 11 darts to claim a 16–14 victory.[45] Littler hit eighteen 180s during the match, breaking the record for most maximums in a World Matchplay quarter-final.[42][44] He described getting the win as a "professional job", also saying: "I really didn’t want to go to a tie-break, so to hit an 11-darter with back-to-back 180s was class."[42][45] Northern Ireland's Josh Rock and Wales's Gerwyn Price traded breaks of throw in the opening two legs, with Rock taking the third through a 120 finish.[42] Price bounced back to take a 4–3 lead, but Rock won the next three legs – including a 10-dart finish – to go ahead 6–4. Price achieved the first 170 checkout of the tournament and found himself 7–6 in front.[44] Level at 8–8, Rock won three legs in a row to distance himself from his Welsh opponent, later extending his lead to 13–9.[43] Price took the next two legs but was unable to take control, as Rock landed a 164 checkout to win the match 16–11.[44] Both players finished the contest with averages over 100. Rock remarked that he was "on cloud nine" following the victory and recounted what he told himself during proceedings: "I was just like, 'Josh, you're doing nothing wrong, you're playing your own game, happy days'."[43]

Schedule

The event is being held over nine days from 19 July to the date of the final on Sunday, 27 July.[46] The figures to the right of a player's name state their three-dart average in a match. Players in bold denote match winners.[47]

Saturday, 19 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2
01 1  James Wade 104.44 10 – 3  Joe Cullen 95.76 4 – 1 8 – 2
02  Danny Noppert 96.44 10 – 2  Cameron Menzies 81.35 5 – 0 8 – 2
03  Luke Humphries 95.69 8 – 10  Gian van Veen 98.45 3 – 2 5 – 5
04  Nathan Aspinall 98.88 6 – 10  Wessel Nijman 101.72 1 – 4 4 – 6
Sunday, 20 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2
05 1  Damon Heta 100.03 10 – 12  Andrew Gilding 101.82 4 – 1 6 – 4
06  Rob Cross 96.10 8 – 10  Dirk van Duijvenbode 95.33 3 – 2 6 – 4
07  Peter Wright 93.10 8 – 10  Jermaine Wattimena 91.81 1 – 4 3 – 7
08  Dave Chisnall 91.87 7 – 10  Mike De Decker 93.01 2 – 3 5 – 5
09  Gary Anderson 98.02 10 – 5  Luke Woodhouse 94.11 3 – 2 5 – 5
10  Jonny Clayton 99.60 10 – 7  Martin Schindler 103.45 4 – 1 6 – 4
11  Luke Littler 108.92 10 – 2  Ryan Searle 98.63 5 – 0 8 – 2
12  Stephen Bunting 98.00 10 – 8  Ryan Joyce 93.71 3 – 2 6 – 4
Monday, 21 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2
13 1  Chris Dobey 90.95 10 – 5  Ricardo Pietreczko 83.22 2 – 3 6 – 4
14  Gerwyn Price 100.21 10 – 7  Daryl Gurney 98.46 4 – 1 6 – 4
15  Michael van Gerwen 91.84 10 – 6  Raymond van Barneveld 87.10 3 – 2 6 – 4
16  Ross Smith 94.88 5 – 10  Josh Rock 104.32 0 – 5 3 – 7
Tuesday, 22 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2
17 2  Gian van Veen 94.94 11 – 5  Danny Noppert 94.59 3 – 2 7 – 3
18  Wessel Nijman 94.78 5 – 11  James Wade 102.53 2 – 3 4 – 6
19  Stephen Bunting 92.71 12 – 10  Gary Anderson 91.70 2 – 3 4 – 6
20  Jonny Clayton 93.41 11 – 8  Mike De Decker 92.62 3 – 2 6 – 4
Wednesday, 23 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2
21 2  Andrew Gilding 100.50 11 – 5  Dirk van Duijvenbode 93.78 5 – 0 7 – 3
22  Chris Dobey 96.50 3 – 11  Gerwyn Price 108.73 1 – 4 2 – 8
23  Luke Littler 99.28 13 – 11  Jermaine Wattimena 96.39 1 – 4 3 – 7
24  Michael van Gerwen 97.31 11 – 13  Josh Rock 95.16 4 – 1 6 – 4
Thursday, 24 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2 Break 3 Break 4
25 QF  Gian van Veen 99.24 13 – 16  James Wade 96.35 4 – 1 4 – 6 5 – 10 8 – 12
26  Stephen Bunting 94.97 7 – 16  Jonny Clayton 98.13 0 – 5 3 – 7 5 – 10 7 – 13
Friday, 25 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2 Break 3 Break 4
27 QF  Luke Littler 103.91 16 – 14  Andrew Gilding 98.48 3 – 2 6 – 4 9 – 6 12 – 8
28  Josh Rock 104.02 16 – 11  Gerwyn Price 100.21 3 – 2 6 – 4 8 – 7 11 – 9
Saturday, 26 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2 Break 3 Break 4
29 SF  James Wade  Jonny Clayton
30  Luke Littler  Josh Rock
Sunday, 27 July
Match # Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Break 1 Break 2 Break 3 Break 4 Break 5
31 F  James Wade or  Jonny Clayton  Luke Littler or  Josh Rock

Draw

The draw was announced on 10 July, conducted by Russ Bray.[7][48] Numbers to the left of players' names show the seedings for the top 16 in the tournament.[47]

First round (best of 19 legs)
19–21 July
Second round (best of 21 legs)
22–23 July
Quarter-finals (best of 31 legs)
24–25 July
Semi-finals (best of 33 legs)
26 July
Final (best of 35 legs)
27 July
               
1  Luke Humphries 95.69 8
 Gian van Veen 98.45 10
 Gian van Veen 94.94 11
16  Danny Noppert 94.59 5
16  Danny Noppert 96.44 10
 Cameron Menzies 81.35 2
 Gian van Veen 99.24 13
9  James Wade 96.35 16
8  Nathan Aspinall 98.88 6
 Wessel Nijman 101.72 10
 Wessel Nijman 94.78 5
9  James Wade 102.53 11
9  James Wade 104.44 10
 Joe Cullen 95.76 3
9  James Wade
5  Jonny Clayton
4  Stephen Bunting 98.00 10
 Ryan Joyce 93.71 8
4  Stephen Bunting 92.71 12
13  Gary Anderson 91.70 10
13  Gary Anderson 98.02 10
 Luke Woodhouse 94.11 5
4  Stephen Bunting 94.97 7
5  Jonny Clayton 98.13 16
5  Jonny Clayton 99.60 10
 Martin Schindler 103.45 7
5  Jonny Clayton 93.41 11
 Mike De Decker 92.62 8
12  Dave Chisnall 91.87 7
 Mike De Decker 93.01 10
 
 
2  Luke Littler 108.92 10
 Ryan Searle 98.63 2
2  Luke Littler 99.28 13
 Jermaine Wattimena 96.39 11
15  Peter Wright 93.10 8
 Jermaine Wattimena 91.81 10
2  Luke Littler 103.91 16
   Andrew Gilding 98.45 14
7  Damon Heta 100.03 10
 Andrew Gilding 101.82 12
   Andrew Gilding 100.50 11
 Dirk van Duijvenbode 93.78 5
10  Rob Cross 96.10 8
 Dirk van Duijvenbode 95.33 10
2  Luke Littler
 Josh Rock
3  Michael van Gerwen 91.84 10
 Raymond van Barneveld 87.10 6
3  Michael van Gerwen 97.31 11
 Josh Rock 95.16 13
14  Ross Smith 94.88 5
 Josh Rock 104.32 10
 Josh Rock 104.02 16
11  Gerwyn Price 100.21 11
6  Chris Dobey 90.95 10
 Ricardo Pietreczko 83.22 5
6  Chris Dobey 96.50 3
11  Gerwyn Price 108.73 11
11  Gerwyn Price 100.21 10
 Daryl Gurney 98.46 7

Top averages

The table lists all players who achieved an average of at least 100 in a match.[47] In the case one player has multiple records, this is indicated by the number in brackets.

# Player Round Average Result
1  Luke Littler First round 108.92 Won
2  Gerwyn Price Second round 108.73 Won
3  James Wade First round 104.44 Won
4  Josh Rock First round 104.32 Won
5  Josh Rock (2) Quarter Final 104.02 Won
6  Luke Littler (2) Quarter Final 103.91 Won
7  Martin Schindler First round 103.45 Lost
8  James Wade (2) Second round 102.53 Won
9  Andrew Gilding First round 101.82 Won
10  Wessel Nijman First round 101.72 Won
11  Andrew Gilding (2) Second round 100.50 Won
12  Gerwyn Price (2) First round 100.21 Won
12  Gerwyn Price (3) Quarter Final 100.21 Lost
14  Damon Heta First round 100.03 Lost

References

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