Betfred World Matchplay debutant Luke Littler will take on Michael van Gerwen in a mouthwatering round one tie.
The draw for the 2024 edition of the event, to be held between 13-21 July at the iconic Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, sees the Premier League champion and current favourite for the tournament Littler face off against three time Matchplay champion van Gerwen.
Defending champion Nathan Aspinall will play Luke Woodhouse. The Asp v Woody is expected to be part of the opening night, as tradition dictates last year’s winner headlines the first evening in Blackpool. Aspinall is in the same quarter as 2022 runner up Gerwyn Price, who plays Daryl Gurney in another round one blockbuster.
Elsewhere, other stand out ties include:
(1) Luke Humphries v Ricardo Pietreczko
(16) Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce
(8) Jonny Clayton v Raymond van Barneveld
(9) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Martin Schindler
(4) Gerwyn Price v Daryl Gurney
(13) Ross Smith v Josh Rock
(5) Nathan Aspinall v Luke Woodhouse
(12) Danny Noppert v James Wade
(2) Michael van Gerwen v Luke Littler
(15) Joe Cullen v Brendan Dolan
(7) Dave Chisnall v Krzysztof Ratajski
(10) Peter Wright v Andrew Gilding
(3) Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
(14) Chris Dobey v Richie Edhouse
(6) Rob Cross v Gian van Veen
(11) Damon Heta v Ryan Searle
The draw for the 2024 Betfred World Matchplay sees the top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit qualify automatically. They make up the 16 seeds for the event.
The top 16 players on the Pro Tour Order of Merit, who are not already on the main Order of Merit, also qualify for round one. They are unseeded, meaning they can play any seed in the first round.
Whoever wins their round one game moves onto round two, where 16 players remain. If all the seeds qualify, then it would be 1 v 16, 2 v 15, and so on. If a non-seeded player beats a seeded player in round one, they effectively take their seed for the remainder of the draw.
After this, two players will remain in each section of the draw. They will play each other in the quarter finals.
The semi finals will be the winner of section one v winner of section two. The winners of sections three and four will play in the other semi final.
The two semi final winners will play in the final, with the victor being crowned the 2024 Betfred World Matchplay Champion.
Saturday 13 July (19.00 BST)
First round x4
Sunday 14 July (13.00 BST)
First round x4
Sunday 14 July (19.30 BST)
First round x4
Monday 15 July (19.00 BST)
First round x4
Tuesday 16 July (19.00 BST)
Second round x4
Wednesday 17 July (19.00 BST)
Second round x4
Thursday 18 July (20.00 BST)
Quarter finals x2
Friday 19 July (20.00 BST)
Quarter finals x2
Saturday 20 July (20.00 BST)
Semi finals x2
Sunday 21 July (13.00 BST)
Women’s World Matchplay – Quarter finals, Semi finals and Final
Sunday 21 July (21.00 BST)
Final
Round One – First to 10 legs
Round Two – First to 11 legs
Quarter Finals – First to 16 legs
Semi Finals – First to 17 legs
Final – First to 18 legs
All games must be won by two clear legs. A game can be extended if necessary for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie break leg is needed.
For example, in a first to 10 legs first round match, if the score reaches 12–12 then the 25th leg will be the deciding one.
There is £800,000 in prize money for the 2024 Betfred World Matchplay. It’s broken down like this:
Winner – £200,000
Runner Up – £100,000
Semi Finals – £50,000
Quarter Finals – £30,000
Second Round – £15,000
First Round – £10,000
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