If there is one player that looks set to inherit the mantle of the best player in the history of darts, then it is Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman has been trailblazing in the PDC for a number of years now and although he has not racked up the number of wins that the incredible Taylor has over the years, if he can continue his dominance over the coming years, then he stands a chance of matching those incredible feats.
However, as talented as van Gerwen is, the World Number 1 does not have it all his own way at times and in recent weeks, he has been beaten on a number of occasions by players that he would ordinarily beat. However, the start of he World Matchplay tournament in Blackpool this weekend will be enough to more than focus his mind as he attempts to win a tournament that is rated by fans and players as second only to the World Championship in terms of prestige.
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World Matchplay History
The first PDC World Matchplay tournament was held in 1994 at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool and the venue has played host to every tournament in the 25 years since. The first winner was a surprise one, American Larry Butler, but the tournament became synonymous with the dominance of Phil Taylor, who has won the trophy on 16 occasions. 14 more than the next best players, Michael van Gerwen and Rod Harrington, who both have won it twice.
Taylor’s dominance of the event is such that he only lost on eight occasions in the tournament’s history and upon his retirement in 2018, it was announced that the World Matchplay trophy would be known as the Phil Taylor trophy from then on.
The current holder of the title is Scotsman Gary Anderson, who landed his first ever victory in the event last year. The prize money for the tournament has increased from ÂŁ500,000 last year to ÂŁ700,000 this, with the winner now receiving a cheque for ÂŁ150,000.
The one key aspect of the Matchplay which makes it different to many other darts tournaments is that it uses a straight race to a set number of legs, rather than legs and sets, to decide the results of matches. If games are tied heading into what would be the final leg, the players then have six extra legs to try and win the game by two clear legs. If not, then after those six extra legs, a final deciding leg is played to decide the winner. This has already occurred twice in the first round of the tournament this year.
The tournament got underway on Saturday and the results of the matches already contested and those still to be played later today in the first round are shown below, together with the draw for the Second Round of the tournament.
World Matchplay 2019 First Round Results/Draw
- Michael van Gerwen (1) 10-6 Steve Beaton
- Adrian Lewis (16) 4-10 Glen Durrant
- James Wade (8) 13-12 Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Mensur Suljovic (9) 10-1 Jermaine Wattimena
- Michael Smith (5) 10-7 Jamie Hughes
- Dave Chisnall (12) 9-11 Max Hopp
- Gary Anderson (4) 10-6 Danny Noppert
- Nathan Aspinall (13) 5-10 Mervyn King
- Rob Cross (2) 10-3 Chris Dobey
- Darren Webster (15) 5-10 Krzystof Ratajaski
- Gerwyn Price (7) 12-13 Stephen Bunting
- Ian White (10) 10-0 Joe Cullen
Matches to be played later today (starting 7pm Monday 22nd July)
- Jonny Clayton (14) v Keegan Brown
- Simon Whitlock (11) v John Henderson
- Daryl Gurney (3) v Ricky Evans
- Peter Wright (6) v Vincent van der Voort
The draw is pre-determined based on seeding and this means that we already know how the second round will look and players can plot potential routes to the final based on their half of the draw.
Second Round Draw
- Michael van Gerwen v Glen Durrant
- James Wade v Mensur Suljovic
- Michael Smith v Max Hopp
- Gary Anderson v Mervyn King
- Rob Cross v Krzystztof Ratajski
- Stephen Bunting v Ian White
- Wright/Van der Voort v Whitlock/Henderson
- Gurney/Evans v Clayton/Brown
Who are the players to back at the World Matchplay this year?
Top Half of the Draw
There’s no doubt that for the remaining players in the top half of the draw, it is about who can beat Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman does have a tough route to the final. Glen Durrant is in good form and is a BDO World Champion, James Wade or Mensur Suljovic both will be very tough quarterfinal opponents, while a likely semifinal against either Michael Smith or Gary Anderson (most likely) will also be incredibly difficult.
That said, if van Gerwen is in top form he can progress through even that tough run of games to reach the final. However, something tells me that there is going to be an upset along the way and that it may not be the Dutchman who makes it through this year. His form has been a little erratic of late and the fact this is legs based, rather than sets, does tend to help his opponents. As such, I am backing James Wade, who came through a very tricky first round tie to reach the final from the top half of the draw.
Bottom Half of the Draw
I think the bottom half of the draw is wide open this year and although Rob Cross is the second favourite to win the event, the Englishman may not have it all his own way. I can see him beating Ratajski in the second round and perhaps getting the better of Bunting or White in the quarterfinal but a semifinal against most likely, Peter Wright or Daryl Gurney would be very tough.
Gurney for me is the least likely of those two to make it as the Irishman’s form in this event isn’t great and his form in general of late has not been as strong as Wright, who has been in superb form in the floor tournaments of late. That doesn’t always translate to wins in the main events, but Wright is experienced and talented enough to do precisely that and I think a semi final between him and Cross would be a cracker and I’d fancy Wright to just edge it.
So, I’m predicting a Wright v Wade final with Wright earning his first World Matchplay title. Who are you going to back to win the event?
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