The 1998 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the

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at the

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. The tournament ran from 27 July–1 August 1998, and was won by

Rod Harrington Rodney Harrington (born 30 December 1957) is an English former professional darts player and commentator. He used the nickname "The Prince of Style" for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoat for his games. Harrington enjoyed some majo ...

. A classic final between Harrington and

Ronnie Baxter Ronnie Baxter (born 5 February 1961) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He used the nickname "The Rocket" for his matches. Baxter was known for his fast robotic throwing a ...

was characterised with deadly finishing from Baxter, who led the final for most of the way, and Harrington's stubbornness in clinging on and keeping the match neck-and-neck. However, Harrington eventually trailed 14–17 and was only 1 leg from defeat. Baxter had a championship dart at double 20 in the 33rd leg but missed. At 17-17, a moment of significant darting history occurred when Harrington took out 125 via treble 15 and two consecutive double 20s. The standard check out route on 80 with two darts in hand had been, up to this point, almost invariably treble 20 and double ten. From then on, it would become more common to see players attempt the Harrington route. With Baxter (who had looked likely to regain the lead) demoralised, Harrington maintained a clear lead throughout the next leg, and sealed the title on double five. Phil Taylor was the reigning champion going into the tournament, but lost 10-13 to Baxter in the quarter finals. Taylor had led 9-5 and 10-8.

Prize money

The prize fund was £58,000.

Seeds

There were eight seeds for the competition.

Results

Players in bold denote match winners.

References

{{World Matchplay (darts) World Matchplay (darts) World Matchplay Darts