2021 Masters (darts)

The 2021 Ladbrokes Masters was the ninth staging of the non-ranking Masters darts tournament, held by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). It was held from 29 to 31 January 2021, behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England.

2021 Ladbrokes Masters
Tournament information
Dates	29–31 January 2021
Venue	Marshall Arena
Location	Milton Keynes
Country	England
Organisation(s)	PDC
Format	Legs Final: best of 21 legs
Prize fund	£220,000
Winner's share	£60,000
High checkout	170  Michael Smith (x2) 170  Daryl Gurney
Champion(s)
Jonny Clayton
«2020 2022»

Peter Wright was the defending champion, after beating Michael Smith 11–10 in the 2020 final,^[1] but he lost 11–10 to Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals.

In its first major change since its inception in 2013, the field was increased from 16 to 24 players, with the top 8 players entering at the second round.

Jonny Clayton won his first individual televised title, beating Mervyn King 11–8 in the final, and by winning the tournament, he also secured his place in the 2021 Premier League, which he won.^[2] Clayton's winning run included a victory over Michael van Gerwen, which ended the so-called "van Gerwen curse", whereby any player who knocked out van Gerwen in a PDC major would subsequently lose in the next round.^[3]

The final itself was notable, as if the usual format of 16 players had been maintained, neither of the two finalists would have qualified for the tournament.

Qualifiers

The Masters featured the top 24 players in the PDC Order of Merit after the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship, with the top 8 automatically qualifying for the second round. Dimitri Van den Bergh, Glen Durrant, Krzysztof Ratajski, José de Sousa, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Chris Dobey made their debuts in the event.

The following 24 players took part in the tournament:

1.   Gerwyn Price (semi-finals)
2.   Michael van Gerwen (second round)
3.   Peter Wright (semi-finals)
4.   Rob Cross (second round)
5.   Nathan Aspinall (quarter-finals)
6.   Dave Chisnall (quarter-finals)
7.   James Wade (quarter-finals)
8.   Gary Anderson (second round)
9.   Michael Smith (first round)
10.   Dimitri Van den Bergh (first round)
11.   Daryl Gurney (second round)
12.   Ian White (first round)
13.   Glen Durrant (first round)
14.   Krzysztof Ratajski (first round)
15.   José de Sousa (first round)
16.   Joe Cullen (second round)
17.   Stephen Bunting (first round)
18.   Jonny Clayton (champion)
19.   Simon Whitlock (second round)
20.   Mervyn King (runner-up)
21.   Mensur Suljović (second round)
22.   Jeffrey de Zwaan (first round)
23.   Chris Dobey (second round)
24.   Adrian Lewis (quarter-finals)

Prize money

The prize money was £220,000 in total, an increase of £20,000 from 2020 to incorporate the extra 8 players.^[4]

Stage (no. of players)		Prize money (Total: £220,000)
Winner	(1)	£60,000
Runner-up	(1)	£25,000
Semi-finalists	(2)	£17,500
Quarter-finalists	(4)	£10,000
Second round losers	(8)	£5,000
First round losers	(8)	£2,500

Draw

	First round (best of 11 legs) 29 January					Second round (best of 19 legs) 30 January					Quarter-finals (best of 19 legs) 31 January					Semi-finals (best of 21 legs) 31 January					Final (best of 21 legs) 31 January
	16	Joe Cullen 102.26	6			1	Gerwyn Price 104.37	10
	17	Stephen Bunting 101.89	4			16	Joe Cullen 92.56	3
											1	Gerwyn Price 105.60	10
											24	Adrian Lewis 92.30	6
	9	Michael Smith 95.78	5			8	Gary Anderson 91.66	8
	24	Adrian Lewis 96.95	6			24	Adrian Lewis 98.56	10
																1	Gerwyn Price 99.46	10
																20	Mervyn King 97.18	11
	13	Glen Durrant 88.36	1			4	Rob Cross 94.05	5
	20	Mervyn King 101.97	6			20	Mervyn King 101.64	10
											20	Mervyn King 101.76	10
											5	Nathan Aspinall 95.83	3
	12	Ian White 88.50	3			5	Nathan Aspinall 92.45	10
	21	Mensur Suljović 89.08	6			21	Mensur Suljović 95.35	9
																					20	Mervyn King 94.95	8
																					18	Jonny Clayton 104.10	11
	15	José de Sousa 101.29	5			2	Michael van Gerwen 96.56	9
	18	Jonny Clayton 102.93	6			18	Jonny Clayton 97.04	10
											18	Jonny Clayton 105.41	10
											7	James Wade 104.02	9
	10	Dimitri Van den Bergh 89.07	2			7	James Wade 97.82	10
	23	Chris Dobey 97.36	6			23	Chris Dobey 94.57	4
																18	Jonny Clayton 104.09	11
																3	Peter Wright 99.95	10
	14	Krzysztof Ratajski 91.71	2			3	Peter Wright 101.52	10
	19	Simon Whitlock 97.95	6			19	Simon Whitlock 105.90	8
											3	Peter Wright 104.72	10
											6	Dave Chisnall 97.51	5
	11	Daryl Gurney 89.56	6			6	Dave Chisnall 97.81	10
	22	Jeffrey de Zwaan 85.10	5			11	Daryl Gurney 96.19	9

References

1. "Wright wins 2020 Ladbrokes Masters". PDC. 2 February 2020.
2. "Clayton wins Ladbrokes Masters and final Premier League place". PDC. 31 January 2021.
3. "Clayton ends curse of van Gerwen following masters victory". Darts News. 2 February 2021.
4. "PDC Order of Merit Rules | PDC".