Dimitri Van den Bergh lifts the World Matchplay trophy (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)
Dimitri Van den Bergh lifts the World Matchplay trophy (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

World Matchplay Darts 2020: Draw, schedule, results, betting odds and TV coverage details


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 FINAL REPORT

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

CLICK HERE FOR DAY ONE REPORT

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

CLICK HERE FOR DAY TWO REPORT

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

CLICK HERE FOR DAY SIX REPORT

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

Scroll down for how the players qualified, prize money, odds and history

Profiles and verdicts for all 32 players competing at the World Matchplay
Click on the image for profiles and verdicts for all 32 players competing at the World Matchplay

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.

  1. Michael van Gerwen £1,527,250
  2. Peter Wright £928,000
  3. Gerwyn Price £806,000
  4. Rob Cross £546,750
  5. Michael Smith £521,250
  6. Nathan Aspinall £476,000
  7. Daryl Gurney £449,750
  8. Gary Anderson £435,750
  9. James Wade £421,000
  10. Dave Chisnall £381,750
  11. Ian White £358,500
  12. Mensur Suljovic £318,250
  13. Krzysztof Ratajski £249,750
  14. Adrian Lewis £248,750
  15. Glen Durrant £247,000
  16. 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

Paul Nicholson previews the World Matchplay
Click here for Paul Nicholson's previews of the World Matchplay

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.

  1. Peter Wright £22,000
  2. Michael van Gerwen £21,000
  3. James Wade £16,250
  4. Ryan Joyce £11,000
  5. Gerwyn Price £10,000
  6. Jose de Sousa £9,250
  7. Dave Chisnall £9.250
  8. Rob Cross £8,000
  9. Daryl Gurney £7,750
  10. Nathan Aspinall £7.750
  11. Krzysztof Ratajski £7,750
  12. Ian White £6,750
  13. Mensur Suljovic £6,750
  14. Glen Durrant £6,500
  15. Michael Smith £5,250
  16. Danny Noppert £5,250
  17. Jermaine Wattimena £5,000
  18. Gabriel Clemens £5,000
  19. Jonny Clayton £4,750
  20. Jamie Hughes £4,750
  21. Ricky Evans £4,500
  22. Gary Anderson £4,000
  23. Brendan Dolan £3,000
  24. Dimitri van den Bergh £2,500
  25. Vincent van der Voort £2,500
  26. Jeffrey de Zwaan £2,000
  27. Simon Whitlock £2,000
  28. Steve Beaton £2,000
  29. Joe Cullen £1,500
  30. Keegan Brown £1,500
  31. Adrian Lewis £1,000 (Missed one event)
  32. Justin Pipe £500 (Missed two events)

Scroll down for odds, prize money and history

Find out which players were statistically the best performers during the Summer Series
Click here to find out which players were statistically the best performers during the Summer Series

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

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