2020 World Matchplay

The 2020 Betfred World Matchplay was the 27th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place, behind closed doors, at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, from 18 to 26 July 2020.

2020 Betfred World Matchplay
Tournament information
Dates	18–26 July 2020
Venue	Marshall Arena
Location	Milton Keynes, England
Organisation(s)	Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)
Format	Legs
Prize fund	£700,000
Winner's share	£150,000
High checkout	170 Gabriel Clemens 170 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Champion(s)
Dimitri Van den Bergh
«2019 2021»

Rob Cross was the defending champion, having won his first World Matchplay title with an 18–13 win over Michael Smith in the 2019 final. However, he was beaten 10–8 by Gabriel Clemens in the first round.

Dimitri Van den Bergh became the first unseeded player since James Wade in 2006 to reach the World Matchplay final; like Wade, Van den Bergh was making his debut in the competition. He went on to win his first major title, beating Gary Anderson 18–10 in the final. Van den Bergh was the first debutant to win the World Matchplay, excluding Larry Butler's win in the inaugural tournament.^[1]

The tournament was moved from its planned venue of Winter Gardens, Blackpool, due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first and so far only time the tournament has not been held in Blackpool.^[2]

Prize money

The prize fund remained at £700,000, with the winner's earnings being £150,000.^[3]

Position (no. of players)		Prize money (Total: £700,000)
Winner	(1)	£150,000
Runner-up	(1)	£70,000
Semi-finalists	(2)	£50,000
Quarter-finalists	(4)	£25,000
Second round	(8)	£15,000
First round	(16)	£10,000

Format

All games have to be won by two clear legs, with a game being extended if necessary for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie-break leg is required. For example, in a first to 10 legs first round match, if the score reaches 12-12 then the 25th leg will be the decider. The first round is played first to 10 legs, second round first to 11 legs, quarter finals first to 16 legs, semi final first to 17 legs and final first to 18 legs.

Qualification

Under the published rules, the top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit as of 12 July 2020 were seeded for the tournament. The top 16 players on the ProTour Order of Merit, not to have already qualified on the cut-off date were unseeded.^[3][4]

The following players have qualified for the tournament:^[5]

PDC Order of Merit   Michael van Gerwen (second round)   Peter Wright (second round)   Gerwyn Price (first round)   Rob Cross (first round)   Michael Smith (semi-finals)   Nathan Aspinall (first round)   Daryl Gurney (second round)   Gary Anderson (runner-up)   James Wade (second round)   Dave Chisnall (first round)   Ian White (first round)   Mensur Suljović (second round)   Krzysztof Ratajski (quarter-finals)   Adrian Lewis (quarter-finals)   Glen Durrant (semi-finals)   Simon Whitlock (quarter-finals)

PDC ProTour qualifiers   Joe Cullen (second round)   Brendan Dolan (first round)   José de Sousa (first round)   Danny Noppert (second round)   Jermaine Wattimena (first round)   Gabriel Clemens (second round)   Jonny Clayton (first round)   Jamie Hughes (first round)   Jeffrey de Zwaan (first round)   Ryan Joyce (first round)   Dimitri Van den Bergh (champion)   Justin Pipe (first round)   Vincent van der Voort (quarter-finals)   Keegan Brown (first round)   Steve Beaton (first round)   Ricky Evans (first round)

Draw

	First round (best of 19 legs) 18–21 July					Second round (best of 21 legs) 21–22 July					Quarter-finals (best of 31 legs) 23–24 July					Semi-finals (best of 33 legs) 25 July					Final (best of 35 legs) 26 July
	1	Michael van Gerwen 99.82	10
		Brendan Dolan 91.88	7
						1	Michael van Gerwen 90.80	4
						16	Simon Whitlock 98.11	11
	16	Simon Whitlock 89.96	10
		Ryan Joyce 90.11	4
											16	Simon Whitlock 95.29	12
											8	Gary Anderson 98.09	16
	8	Gary Anderson 90.59	10
		Justin Pipe 87.41	5
						8	Gary Anderson 92.91	11
						9	James Wade 93.96	8
	9	James Wade 96.58	12
		Keegan Brown 99.45	10
																8	Gary Anderson 97.99	18
																5	Michael Smith 93.85	16
	4	Rob Cross 94.40	8
		Gabriel Clemens 89.22	10
							Gabriel Clemens 96.89	10
						13	Krzysztof Ratajski 99.69	12
	13	Krzysztof Ratajski 107.53	10
		Jermaine Wattimena 96.47	4
											13	Krzysztof Ratajski 93.82	13
											5	Michael Smith 98.32	16
	5	Michael Smith 101.02	10
		Jonny Clayton 91.10	3
						5	Michael Smith 94.99	14
						12	Mensur Suljović 91.70	12
	12	Mensur Suljović 100.47	12
		Jamie Hughes 101.13	10
																					8	Gary Anderson 92.81	10
																						Dimitri Van den Bergh 98.31	18
	2	Peter Wright 98.94	10
		José de Sousa 96.21	8
						2	Peter Wright 100.87	8
						15	Glen Durrant 98.36	11
	15	Glen Durrant 106.93	10
		Jeffrey de Zwaan 96.71	3
											15	Glen Durrant 95.21	18
												Vincent van der Voort 93.79	16
	7	Daryl Gurney 92.37	10
		Ricky Evans 90.29	5
						7	Daryl Gurney 93.79	5
							Vincent van der Voort 97.67	11
	10	Dave Chisnall 94.20	6
		Vincent van der Voort 98.95	10
																15	Glen Durrant 98.44	15
																	Dimitri Van den Bergh 98.97	17
	3	Gerwyn Price 90.73	7
		Danny Noppert 90.92	10
							Danny Noppert 87.63	7
						14	Adrian Lewis 99.81	11
	14	Adrian Lewis 97.27	11
		Steve Beaton 89.94	9
											14	Adrian Lewis 96.26	12
												Dimitri Van den Bergh 99.67	16
	6	Nathan Aspinall 93.54	5
		Dimitri Van den Bergh 98.42	10
							Dimitri Van den Bergh 93.19	11
							Joe Cullen 92.81	9
	11	Ian White 93.80	12
		Joe Cullen 90.42	13

References

1. "Dimitri van den Bergh wins 2020 Betfred World Matchplay". PDC.tv. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
2. Phillips, Josh. "Betfred World Matchplay to take place behind closed doors". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
3. "PDC Order of Merit Rules". PDC. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
4. "Grand Slam spot for PDC Summer Series + rankings update". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
5. "WMP Race Table". Professional Darts Players Association. Retrieved 6 June 2020.