The 2016

BetVictor BetVictor, founded in 1946, is an online gambling company based in Gibraltar, owned by British businessman and racehorse owner Michael Tabor. It provides services such as sports betting and online casinos. History The company was founded ...

World Matchplay was the 23rd annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the Wor ...

. The tournament took place at the Winter Gardens,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, from 16–24 July 2016.

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player, who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number three; he was ranked world number one from 20 ...

successfully defended his World Matchplay title by defeating Phil Taylor 18–10 in the final. It was the first (and would turn out to be, only) time that Taylor has been defeated in a World Matchplay final. Van Gerwen also became only the third player to successfully defend the Matchplay trophy after Taylor and

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 ...

. The second round was also reduced in length from best of 25 legs to best of 21 legs. This still remains the current format for the World Matchplay. This tournament was the first time in the event's history that no matches went into 'extra legs', the first time that Taylor had been defeated in the final after winning his previous 15, and the first time that Robert Thornton won a match at the event. It was also the first time that

James Wade James Martin Wade (born 6 April 1983) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number nine; he reached a peak ranking of world number two in 2010. ...

was defeated before the World Matchplay quarter finals, after losing to Mervyn King in the first round.

Prize money

The prize fund remained at £450,000 as it has been since the 2014 event.

Format

In previous stagings of the event all games had to be won by two clear legs with no sudden-death legs. However, in 2013 after consulting the host broadcaster

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

, the PDC decided that games will now only proceed for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie-break leg is required. For example, in a best of 19 legs first round match, if the score reaches 12–12 then the 25th leg will be the decider.

Qualification

PDC Order of Merit Top 16

(winner) # Gary Anderson ''(semi-finals)'' # Phil Taylor ''(runner-up)'' #

Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985) is an English professional darts player who formerly competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Jackpot", he is a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2011 and 2012. ...

''(semi-finals)'' # Peter Wright ''(quarter-finals)'' #

''(first round)'' # Michael Smith ''(second round)'' # Robert Thornton ''(second round)'' #

Dave Chisnall David Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twelve; he reached a peak ranking of world number five in ...

''(quarter-finals)'' #

Jelle Klaasen Jelle Klaasen (born 17 October 1984), nicknamed the Cobra, is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He previously participated in British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments, where in 2006 ...

''(first round)'' #

Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he was ranked world number one from January 2008 to June 2008. Nicknamed "Barney", he is a five-t ...

''(first round)'' # Ian White ''(second round)'' #

Kim Huybrechts Kim Huybrechts (born 16 November 1985) is a Belgian professional darts player competing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was runner-up in the 2012 Players Championship Finals, losing to Phil Taylor 13–6. He also made the fin ...

''(first round)'' #

Stephen Bunting Stephen Bunting (born 9 April 1985) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number four. Nicknamed "the Bullet", Bunting formerly competed in Brit ...

''(first round)'' #

Terry Jenkins Terry Jenkins (born 26 September 1963) is an English former professional darts player who was nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the name "Tucker" for his matches. He reached a peak ranking of world number three in the darts world ranki ...

''(second round)'' #

Vincent van der Voort Vincent van der Voort (born 18 December 1975) is a Dutch former professional darts player who played in British Darts Organisation (BDO) then Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is nicknamed the "Dutch Destroyer", although he used ...

''(first round)''

PDC ProTour qualifiers

Benito van de Pas Benito van de Pas (born 18 January 1993) is a former Dutch professional darts player who formerly competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Van de Pas obtained a PDC Tour Card in 2014 and won three ranking Players Championship e ...

''(first round)'' #

Mensur Suljović Mensur Suljović (Serbian Cyrillic: Менсур Суљовић; born 5 March 1972) is a Serbian-Austrian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he reached a peak ranking of world number five ...

''(second round)'' #

Gerwyn Price Gerwyn Price (born 7 March 1985) is a Welsh professional darts player and former professional rugby union and rugby league player. He competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world ...

''(second round)'' # Alan Norris ''(first round)'' #

Simon Whitlock Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, having previously competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Nicknamed "The Wizard", he won th ...

''(first round)'' # Joe Cullen ''(first round)'' #

Daryl Gurney Daryl Gurney (born 22 March 1986) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twenty-five; he reached a peak ranking of world number thre ...

''(first round)'' # Mervyn King ''(quarter-finals)'' #

Steve Beaton Steve Beaton (born 5 April 1964) is an English former professional darts player who competes in World Seniors Darts (WSD) events. Nicknamed "the Bronzed Adonis", Beaton formerly formerly competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO), World Dart ...

''(quarter-finals)'' #

Justin Pipe Justin Pipe (born 9 November 1971) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won six PDC titles. Playing career Pipe was a Boxing, boxer in his youth, and, as a staunch anti- ...

''(first round)'' # Mark Webster ''(first round)'' #

Jamie Caven Jamie Robert Caven (born 10 March 1976) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation and British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. He won seven PDC Pro Tour titles, including two in the same we ...

''(first round)'' # Kyle Anderson ''(second round)'' #

Brendan Dolan Brendan Gabriel Dolan (born 2 August 1973) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was the first player to hit a nine-dart finish in a "double-to-start" event (where a pla ...

''(second round)'' #

Josh Payne Joshua James Payne (born 25 November 1990) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Beaconsfield Town. He has previously played for West Ham United, Cheltenham Town, Colchester United, Wycombe Wanderers, Doncaster Rovers, Oxford ...

''(first round)'' #

Robbie Green Robbie Green (born 19 July 1974) is a former English professional darts player. His nickname was Kong. PDC career Green made his televised debut at the 2004 UK Open, reaching the last 64 stage. The same year he qualified for the World Matchpl ...

''(first round)''

Draw

References

External links

PDC Netzone
Schedule and results {{2016 in PDC darts World Matchplay (darts) World Matchplay World Matchplay