The quarterfinal spots have been assigned after Michael Van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Andrew Gilding, and Rob Cross emerged victorious in the 2024 Betfred World Matchplay. Day five of the World Matchplay was a great night of darts, full of tons plus checkouts and plenty of 180s.

Gilding through to victory

Goldfinger, Andrew Gilding, faced off against Polish Eagle Krzysztof Ratajski in the first 2024 Betfred World Matchplay match of the evening. It was the same outcome as when the two had faced off in Players Championship 13, where Gilding prevailed once more.

Goldfinger would pin two maximums in his first two legs, but the first two legs would be shared by as two  breaks of throws. After leading 3-2 at the break, Gilding increased his lead to 7-2 without receiving a reply from the Polish Number One. In the sixth leg, he would hit a magnificent 127 on the bullseye.

Ratajski would reply with three of his own to cut the deficit to two, but those would be his final legs of the World Matchplay. Once again, the world number twenty in the Order of Merit would win four legs on the spin to secure a convincing victory over Krzysztof Ratajski.

Gilding put up a terrific performance; his proficiency on the outer ring allowed him to post a 50% checkout rate as opposed to his opponent’s 31.25%.

Rob Crosses the finish line

A magnificent performance led to Voltage’s dominating performance in his matchup with Heavy Metal. Rob Cross would win the first leg of the match after he scored two maximums in the process. However, Searle locked down three legs on the spin, meaning Cross would fall behind during the opening break.

Half of his overall leg total during the entire match against the world’s sixth-ranked player. Soon after, Cross would reply with four of his own and his ability to score was once again crucial to his triumph over Searle, a week after their match on the European Tour.

It was a 180-party, throughout the match, with the pair notching up seventeen combined with Searle having one more than Cross. But following a commanding showing against Ryan Searle, Voltage would go on to average an incredible 106.99, putting up his finest World Matchplay performance to date.

Particularly considering that he made it through after surviving six match darts in the last round, but there were no concerns this time around.

The Green Machine prevails once more

Van Gerwen has once again responded to his critics after defeating the wonder child from Warrington in the previous round. He earned a spot in the last eight of the 2024 Betfred World Matchplay after putting on another strong performance against the Rockstar, Joe Cullen.

At the first break, Mighty Mike would build up a three-leg cushion with an incredible 151 checkout. But it would awaken Cullen, who trailed six legs to four after cutting the deficit to two before the next break.

The World Number two and three time Champion of the World Matchplay would once again prove to be too good for Cullen, as he would open up his three leg cushion ahead of the next break.

After checking out 87, Michael Van Gerwen would finally seal the victory, leaving the Rockstar to ponder what could have been. Nonetheless, the Green Machine’s scoring prowess was undeniable, as they scored five more maximums than Joe Cullen during the match’s 19 legs.

 

Smith slides through

The Bully Boy had the ideal start in his second round clash of the Betfred World Matchplay, taking the first four legs of the match and pinning an incredible 114 checkout in the process. A Hollywood leg in leg five, though, would lessen the damage before the first intermission.

Though it appeared as though he had everything under control, squandered opportunities let Chris Dobey close the gap to just one leg after he brought in the big fish (6-5). But for the current World Cup victor, it was the ideal wake-up call, as he would once more open up a three-leg advantage.

However, a few of the 26 missed darts at a double started to affect Michael Smith, who let Dobey get within one leg of the lead when he pinned another incredible ton plus checkout, this time at 140 out.

Following leg fifteen, the two would trade legs for the rest of the match, with Smith emerging victorious thanks to his reliable ally double 10.

He would get even for their 2023 World Matchplay encounter from the previous year, losing that match 11–7 to Hollywood.

Betfred World Matchplay Results – Day Five

Krzysztof Ratajski 5-11 Andrew Gilding

Rob Cross 11-6 Ryan Searle

Michael Van Gerwen 11-8 Joe Cullen

Michael Smith 11-9 Chris Dobey