World Matchplay

The 25th World Matchplay will be held from 21 to 29 July. Gary Anderson claims the title in Blackpool for the first time in his career.

The 2018 tournament starts immediately with a shock as the number 1 of the seeding list, Michael van Gerwen crashes in the first round against compatriot Jeffrey de Zwaan. With that, the battle for the title is immediately thrown open. Nevertheless, no new surprises will arise in the first round. Only Gerwyn Price loses as a seeded player, but he has been struggling for some time with an injury. Kim Huybrechts knows after seven attempts for the first time how to win a match in Blackpool: against John Henderson there is a sudden death leg (the first ever in the tournament) to taste a victory.

In the second round we see more surprises: world champion Rob Cross loses against Darren Webster, while Daryl Gurney is no match for Joe Cullen. Raymond van Barneveld takes a big lead against Gary Anderson, but still sees the Scotch win the game. Jeffrey de Zwaan also plays an exciting game and eventually manages to get rid of Adrian Lewis.

A lot of spectacle can be seen during the quarterfinals: Jeffrey de Zwaan impresses again and goes to his first major semi-final after a big win against Dave Chisnall. Mensur Suljovic and Peter Wright (with a finish percentage of 76%) also manage to get a place at the last four. But the best game of the quarter-finals is the one between Gary Anderson and Joe Cullen. Anderson throws a nine-darter in the fourth leg and only manages to win against his English opponent in overtime: 19-17.

The fairy tale for Jeffrey de Zwaan ends in the semi-finals. An unleashed Gary Anderson throws an average of over 106 and finally manages to get De Zwaan on his knees with a 17-12 victory. In the other semi-final, Mensur Suljovic defeats Peter Wright. After an exciting match he takes the 17-13 victory.

The final will also be a memorable match. Both men are in the final in Blackpool for the first time and got some nerves at the beginning of the match. But once they have disappeared, there will be a fantastic match that many will remember for a long time. Anderson takes a 17-13 lead, but can’t finish the game yet. Suljovic strikes back and gains an 18-17 lead in the extension. Yet it is Anderson who gets the first matchdart at 19-18, but the dart for the title falls down from the bulls-eye. Suljovic draws the score again, but has to bend two legs later for the Scot. Via the double ten, Anderson takes the 21-19 victory over the line. With 28 180-ers it is a tie match of the record number of 180-ers in one match in Blackpool and to Anderson the honor to put the very first Phil Taylor trophy in the air.