World Matchplay Draw Released

The World Matchplay draw sees defending champion Rob Cross begin the defence of his title against Gabriel Clemens.

The draw also hands tough opening ties to Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price.

The world champion Wright will begin against Portugal’s Jose de Sousa. Grand Slam champion Price faces Dutchman Danny Noppert.

Fascinating first round ties

Ryan Joyce’s reward for his day two summer series triumph is a debut contest against 16th seed Simon Whitlock.

A victory would set up a potential showdown with Michael van Gerwen in round two. The world number one will need to overcome Brendan Dolan in round one.

Eighth seed Gary Anderson faces a clash of styles as he takes on Justin Pipe. The Scotsman will be defending the prize money he picked up two years ago when he defeated Mensur Suljovic in the final.

Michael Smith and Glen Durrant are two more seeds that face tricky starts. They take on Jonny Clayton and Jeffrey de Zwaan respectively.

The stories continue throughout the draw as Ian White and Joe Cullen are once again paired together. The duo met in round 1 last year where Diamond whitewashed the Rockstar 10-0.

2020 World Matchplay draw

(1) Michael van Gerwen v Brendan Dolan
(16) Simon Whitlock v Ryan Joyce
(8) Gary Anderson v Justin Pipe
(9) James Wade v Keegan Brown
(4) Rob Cross v Gabriel Clemens
(13) Krzysztof Ratajski v Jermaine Wattimena
(5) Michael Smith v Jonny Clayton
(12) Mensur Suljovic v Jamie Hughes
(2) Peter Wright v Jose De Sousa
(15) Glen Durrant v Jeffrey de Zwaan
(7) Daryl Gurney v Ricky Evans
(10) Dave Chisnall v Vincent van der Voort
(3) Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
(14) Adrian Lewis v Steve Beaton
(6) Nathan Aspinall v Dimitri Van den Bergh
(11) Ian White v Joe Cullen