The full results and round-ups from the 2020 Betfred World Matchplay, which took place at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes from July 18-26.
The biggest darts event of the summer - and the year so far - is over and it ended up being a history-making one for a much more triumphant reason than it's crowd-less location.
A star-studded field of 32 headed to Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes - rather than it's spiritual home of the Winter Gardens in Blackpool - for a behind-closed-doors edition of the PDC's second-longest running major, which was first staged in 1994.
No fans but plenty of shocks and drama as the big three of Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price as well as defending champion Rob Cross all departed before the quarter-finals.
One usual suspect in Gary Anderson did, however, avoid the wreckage to reach his 20th major final but he was unable to win his second World Matchplay title as debutant Dimitri Van den Bergh thrashed him 18-10 with the help of 170 checkout to win his first senior trophy crown in his maiden major final.
Here, you can look back on how the event unfolded with all the results and daily round-ups while there's also details on how the players qualified, prize money and a history section.
World Matchplay Darts: Tournament Results
Seedings in brackets. Players must win by two clear legs
ROUND ONE (Best of 19 legs)
- (1) Michael van Gerwen 10-7 Brendan Dolan
- (16) Simon Whitlock 10-4 Ryan Joyce
- (8) Gary Anderson 10-5 Justin Pipe
- (9) James Wade 12-10 Keegan Brown
- (4) Rob Cross 8-10 Gabriel Clemens
- (13) Krzysztof Ratajski 10-4 Jermaine Wattimena
- (5) Michael Smith 10-3 Jonny Clayton
- (12) Mensur Suljovic 12-10 Jamie Hughes
- (2) Peter Wright 10-8 Jose De Sousa
- (15) Glen Durrant 10-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
- (7) Daryl Gurney 10-5 Ricky Evans
- (10) Dave Chisnall 6-10 Vincent van der Voort
- (3) Gerwyn Price 7-10 Danny Noppert
- (14) Adrian Lewis 11-9 Steve Beaton
- (6) Nathan Aspinall 5-10 Dimitri Van den Bergh
- (11) Ian White 12-13 Joe Cullen
ROUND TWO (Best of 21 legs)
- (1) Michael van Gerwen 4-11 Simon Whitlock (16)
- (8) Gary Anderson 11-8 James Wade (9)
- Gabriel Clemens 10-12 Krzysztof Ratajski (13)
- (5) Michael Smith 14-12 Mensur Suljovic (12)
- (2) Peter Wright 8-11 Glen Durrant (15)
- (7) Daryl Gurney 5-11 Vincent van der Voort
- Danny Noppert 7-11 Adrian Lewis (14)
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 11-9 Joe Cullen
QUARTER-FINALS (Best of 31 legs)
- (16) Simon Whitlock 12-16 Gary Anderson (8)
- (13) Krzysztof Ratajski 13-16 Michael Smith (5)
- (15) Glen Durrant 18-16 Vincent van der Voort
- (14) Adrian Lewis 12-16 Dimitri Van den Bergh
SEMI-FINALS (Best of 33 legs)
- (8) Gary Anderson 18-16 Michael Smith (5)
- (15) Glen Durrant 15-17 Dimitri Van den Bergh
FINAL (Best of 35 legs)
- (8) Gary Anderson 10-18 Dimitri Van den Bergh
WORLD MATCHPLAY: LEG-BY-LEG BLOG
World Matchplay Darts: Daily Results
- Click here for Sky Bet odds
- * Each game must be won by two clear legs, with up to a maximum of five additional legs being played before the sixth additional leg is sudden-death
Saturday July 18 (1800 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Simon Whitlock 10-4 Ryan Joyce
- Krzysztof Ratajski 10-4 Jermaine Wattimena
- James Wade 12-10 Keegan Brown
- Michael van Gerwen 10-7 Brendan Dolan
- Gary Anderson 10-5 Justin Pipe
Sunday July 19
Evening Session (1800 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Mensur Suljovic 12-10 Jamie Hughes
- Glen Durrant 10-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Rob Cross 8-10 Gabriel Clemens
- Peter Wright 10-8 Jose De Sousa
- Michael Smith 10-3 Jonny Clayton
Monday July 20 (1800 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Dave Chisnall 6-10 Vincent van der Voort
- Ian White 12-13 Joe Cullen
- Daryl Gurney 10-5 Ricky Evans
- Gerwyn Price 7-10 Danny Noppert
- Adrian Lewis 11-9 Steve Beaton
CLICK HERE FOR DAY THREE REPORT
Tuesday July 21 (1800 BST)
First/Second Round
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- 1 First-round match (best of 19 legs)
- Nathan Aspinall 5-10 Dimitri Van den Bergh
- 4x Second-round match (best of 21 legs)
- Michael Smith 14-12 Mensur Suljovic
- Gary Anderson 11-8 James Wade
- Michael Van Gerwen 4-11 Simon Whitlock
- Gabriel Clemens 10-12 Krzysztof Ratajski
CLICK HERE FOR DAY FOUR REPORT
Wednesday July 22 (1900 BST)
Second Round (best of 21 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Daryl Gurney 5-11 Vincent Van der Voort
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 11-9 Joe Cullen
- Peter Wright 8-11 Glen Durrant
- Danny Noppert 7-11 Adrian Lewis
CLICK HERE FOR DAY FIVE REPORT
Thursday July 23 (2000 BST)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 31 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Krzysztof Ratajski 13-16 Michael Smith
- Simon Whitlock 12-16 Gary Anderson
Friday July 24 (2000 BST)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 31 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Glen Durrant 18-16 Vincent Van der Voort
- Adrian Lewis 12-16 Dimitri Van den Bergh
CLICK HERE FOR DAY SEVEN REPORT
Saturday July 25 (2000 BST)
Semi-Finals (best of 33 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Gary Anderson 18-16 Michael Smith
- Glen Durrant 15-17 Dimitri Van den Bergh
CLICK HERE FOR SEMI-FINAL REPORT
Sunday July 26 (2030 BST)
Final (best of 35 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports
- Gary Anderson 10-18 Dimitri Van den Bergh
- WORLD MATCHPLAY FINAL REPORT
- WORLD MATCHPLAY: LEG-BY-LEG BLOG
Scroll down for how the players qualified, prize money, odds and history
How the players qualified
The 16 seeded players are the top 16 from the main PDC Order Of Merit. There was no rankings movement in the top 12 during the PDC Summer Series although James Wade did close the gap between himself and Gary Anderson thanks to winning one of the five events. However, the players ranked 13-16 did shuffle around significantly, with Krzysztof Ratajski (15th to 13th) and Glen Durrant (16th to 15th) making new career-high climbs which means they avoid a potential meeting with top seed Michael van Gerwen in the second round. That fate falls on Simon Whitlock, although he's in such bad form right now, he may struggle to get past Summer Series event winner Ryan Joyce.
- Michael van Gerwen £1,527,250
- Peter Wright £928,000
- Gerwyn Price £806,000
- Rob Cross £546,750
- Michael Smith £521,250
- Nathan Aspinall £476,000
- Daryl Gurney £449,750
- Gary Anderson £435,750
- James Wade £421,000
- Dave Chisnall £381,750
- Ian White £358,500
- Mensur Suljovic £318,250
- Krzysztof Ratajski £249,750
- Adrian Lewis £248,750
- Glen Durrant £247,000
- Simon Whitlock £246,250
The unseeded players were the top 16 on the one-year ProTour Order of Merit who hadn't already qualified via the above list. The cut-off point was the final event of five at the PDC Summer Series. Remarkably - despite how tight this ranking list was all the way down to around the 40th position before a dart was thrown at Summer Series - only two players outside the qualification places managed to climb their way into the 16. The first was Ryan Joyce thanks largely to the maiden ranking title he managed to achieve on day two and the other was Ricky Evans, who moved up just two places with some steady performances, while Ryan Searle and Kim Huybrechts were the pair who were dislodged.
- Joe Cullen £56,250
- Brendan Dolan £40,500
- Jose de Sousa £40,000
- Danny Noppert £36,500
- Jermaine Wattimena £34,000
- Gabriel Clemens £29,250
- Jonny Clayton £29,000
- Jamie Hughes £27,500
- Jeffrey de Zwaan £26,500
- Ryan Joyce £26,250
- Dimitri van den Bergh £24,500
- Justin Pipe £24,000
- Vincent van der Voort £23,750
- Keegan Brown £23,750
- Steve Beaton £23,500
- Ricky Evans £22,500
Scroll down for more
Summer Series Order Of Merit
This is how much every player in the World Matchplay earned during the five-day Summer Series to give you an indication of form ahead of their return to the Marshall Arena. Michael van Gerwen won two of the first three titles either side of Ryan Joyce's maiden title while James Wade and day one runner-up Peter Wright bagged the others. Each title was worth £10,000 while Wright, Dave Chisnall, Jose De Sousa, Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price picked up £6,000 cheques for runners-up placings.
- Peter Wright £22,000
- Michael van Gerwen £21,000
- James Wade £16,250
- Ryan Joyce £11,000
- Gerwyn Price £10,000
- Jose de Sousa £9,250
- Dave Chisnall £9.250
- Rob Cross £8,000
- Daryl Gurney £7,750
- Nathan Aspinall £7.750
- Krzysztof Ratajski £7,750
- Ian White £6,750
- Mensur Suljovic £6,750
- Glen Durrant £6,500
- Michael Smith £5,250
- Danny Noppert £5,250
- Jermaine Wattimena £5,000
- Gabriel Clemens £5,000
- Jonny Clayton £4,750
- Jamie Hughes £4,750
- Ricky Evans £4,500
- Gary Anderson £4,000
- Brendan Dolan £3,000
- Dimitri van den Bergh £2,500
- Vincent van der Voort £2,500
- Jeffrey de Zwaan £2,000
- Simon Whitlock £2,000
- Steve Beaton £2,000
- Joe Cullen £1,500
- Keegan Brown £1,500
- Adrian Lewis £1,000 (Missed one event)
- Justin Pipe £500 (Missed two events)
- Summer Series: Event one report
- Summer Series: Event two report
- Summer Series: Event three report
- Summer Series: Event four report
- Summer Series: Event five report
Scroll down for odds, prize money and history
Sky Bet's World Matchplay Pre-Tournament Odds
Michael van Gerwen is the 7/4 favourite to win his third World Matchplay - and first since 2016 - while world champion Peter Wright is next in the running at 4/1 ahead of Gerwyn Price (6/1).
Nathan Aspinall won the recent PDC Home Tour so he'll have plenty of backers at 8/1, as will the 2018 champion Gary Anderson, who finished runner-up in the lockdown tournament.
The defending champion Rob Cross is way out at 20/1 but the behind closed door format may suit notoriously strong floor players such as 40/1 shots Ian White and Krzysztof Ratajski.
Click here for a full list of Sky Bet's odds
Where can I watch the World Matchplay on television?
The Betfred World Matchplay will be broadcast on Sky Sports from July 18-26.
What if I have tickets for the World Matchplay?
Existing ticket bookings for the 2020 Betfred World Matchplay will be transferred to the equivalent session of the 2021 event, which is planned to be held from July 17-25. Alternatively, fans can request a refund of their ticket base price from their point of purchase.
World Matchplay Format
- First Round - Best of 19 legs
- Second Round - Best of 21 legs
- Quarter-Finals - Best of 31 legs
- Semi-Finals - Best of 33 legs
- Final - Best of 35 legs
The World Matchplay is played in a legs format. Each game must be won by two clear legs, with up to a maximum of five additional legs being played before the sixth additional leg is sudden-death. For example, should a First Round game (best of 19 legs) reach 12-12, then the 25th leg would be the final and deciding leg.
Prize Fund
- Winner - £150,000
- Runner-Up - £70,000
- Semi-Finalists - £50,000
- Quarter-Finalists - £25,000
- Second Round Losers - £15,000
- First Round Losers - £10,000
- Total - £700,000
World Matchplay History
Since the World Matchplay was first held back in 1994, when Larry Butler beat Dennis Priestley, there has only been eight different winners of this PDC major.
Unsurprisingly the most dominant player in its 21-year history is Phil Taylor with 16 titles - the last of which coming on his farewell appearance in 2017 - while Michael van Gerwen and Rod Harrington are the only other players to have lifted the trophy more than once.
The Power hit the first ever nine-dart finish to be broadcast live on UK television during the 2002 World Matchplay while he repeated the feat during the 2014 edition on his way to a seventh-straight Blackpool title.
The previous year he'd managed an astonishing three-dart average of 111.23 during his final victory over Adrian Lewis.
Taylor's seven-year winning streak from 2008 to 2014 was ended in 2015 when Michael van Gerwen emerged triumphed with a 18-12 victory over James Wade before winning it again 12 months later.
The Dutchman was favourite to defend his crown for a third time but Taylor had other ideas as he knocked him out en route to winning an emotional 16th title before his retirement.
The final of 2018 ended up being one of the most dramatic in the tournament's history, with Gary Anderson clinching the title for the first time thanks to a 21-18 victory over Mensur Suljovic having earlier hit a nine-dart finish against Joe Cullen.
Past Finals
Final scores in legs
- 1994 - Larry Butler 16-12 Dennis Priestley
- 1995 - Phil Taylor 16-11 Dennis Priestley
- 1996 - Peter Evison 16-14 Dennis Priestley
- 1997 - Phil Taylor 16-11 Alan Warriner
- 1998 - Rod Harrington 19-17 Ronnie Baxter
- 1999 - Rod Harrington 19-17 Peter Manley
- 2000 - Phil Taylor 18-12 Alan Warriner
- 2001 - Phil Taylor 18-10 Richie Burnett
- 2002 - Phil Taylor 18-16 John Part
- 2003 - Phil Taylor 18-12 Wayne Mardle
- 2004 - Phil Taylor 18-8 Mark Dudbridge
- 2005 - Colin Lloyd 18-12 John Part
- 2006 - Phil Taylor 18-9 James Wade
- 2007 - James Wade 18-7 Terry Jenkins
- 2008 - Phil Taylor 18-11 James Wade
- 2009 - Phil Taylor 18-4 Terry Jenkins
- 2010 - Phil Taylor 18-12 Raymond van Barneveld
- 2011 - Phil Taylor 18-8 James Wade
- 2012 - Phil Taylor 18-15 James Wade
- 2013 - Phil Taylor 18-13 Adrian Lewis
- 2014 - Phil Taylor 18-9 Michael van Gerwen
- 2015 - Michael van Gerwen 18-12 James Wade
- 2016 - Michael van Gerwen 18-10 Phil Taylor
- 2017 - Phil Taylor 18-8 Peter Wright
- 2018 - Gary Anderson 21-19 Mensur Suljovic
- 2019 - Rob Cross 18-13 Michael Smith
World Matchplay Most Titles
- Phil Taylor - 16
- Michael van Gerwen - 2
- Rod Harrington - 2
- Rob Cross - 1
- Gary Anderson - 1
- Larry Butler - 1
- Peter Evison - 1
- Colin Lloyd - 1
- James Wade - 1
Related Darts Content
- Chris Hammer's Player-By-Player Guide
- Paul Nicholson's World Matchplay analysis
- World Matchplay betting preview & tips
- 2020 World Matchplay draw and schedule
- 2020 Premier League venues & dates
- 2020 PDC event calendar & results
- 2020 World Darts Championship results
- 2019 PDC event results
- Sky Bet's darts odds
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