The World Matchplay kicks off tonight as Luke Littler hunts down back-to-back titles at the iconic Winter Gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s standout summer darting event, with a newly-boosted \u00a31,000,000 prize fund, will see 32 of the sport\u2019s finest players battle for the Phil Taylor Trophy in Blackpool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seven former champions – including reigning champion Littler, world number two Luke Humphries and three-time winner Michael van Gerwen – will go head-to-head for the \u00a3225,000 top prize at the Empress Ballroom over nine days of darting drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first round will pit the world\u2019s top 16 players against the 16 top-performing ProTour qualifiers from the one-year rankings, with Littler beginning his title defence on Saturday evening against German debutant and Hungarian Darts Trophy champion Niko Springer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two-time World Champion averaged north of 105 across a staggering campaign last year to claim his maiden title in Blackpool, and comes into his third World Matchplay having won every Premier ranking event on offer in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only Rod Harrington, Phil Taylor and most recently Van Gerwen have bagged consecutive World Matchplay titles, and the 19-year-old phenom is looking to join yet another exclusive club in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year, I turned all the wrongs into rights,\u201d assessed Littler, who fell at the first hurdle on debut in 2024 to eventual runner-up Van Gerwen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to put myself in the category of players to go back-to-back at the Matchplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year, there were quite a few times I was 5-0 down but I found a way to get myself out of it, crawl back into the game and get over the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs soon as you get the first two games out of the way, the format gets longer and longer, and being on stage for ages it gets hotter and hotter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut I like that. I can grow into the game, get better as the game goes on.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs the tournament goes on, hopefully I can reach another final and defend it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Northern Irish number one Josh Rock will take on the top-performing ProTour qualifier Luke Woodhouse in a tantalising opening fixture in Blackpool, while former Masters winner Stephen Bunting faces Dutch debutant Niels Zonneveld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2023 World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall will play former Premier League runner-up Joe Cullen for the right to play Littler or Springer in round two, before Sunday\u2019s afternoon action is headlined by Van Gerwen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-time champion faces former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding in the opening round, with the winner taking on either Dirk van Duijvenbode or former Masters winner Chris Dobey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2018 winner Gary Anderson returns to Blackpool to take on Ryan Joyce, while Welsh number one Jonny Clayton will do battle with Australia\u2019s Damon Heta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday evening, Dutch number one Gian van Veen – entering Blackpool as a seed for the first time – will lock horns with Poland\u2019s premier player Krzysztof Ratajski, while fellow Dutch seed Wessel Nijman takes on Dave Chisnall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nijman enters his second World Matchplay having won a staggering eight ProTour titles in 2026 – a feat only achieved by Taylor, Van Gerwen and Peter Wright in one year – while only Littler has pocketed more prize money so far this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI did not expect to win this many titles, especially two European Tour titles as well,\u201d confessed Nijman, who has surged from 29th to 14th in the world since the turn of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy confidence is very high, not only for the World Matchplay but for the next six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the Winter Gardens in Blackpool is the best venue we have. The venue itself is very special, the fans are fantastic, and it\u2019s so hard to qualify for an event like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI enjoyed it very much last year, and I\u2019m looking forward to playing here again. I believe I can make a big impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Irish darting stalwart William O\u2019Connor will make his long-awaited World Matchplay debut against World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle, while 2007 champion James Wade has been pitted against Jermaine Wattimena. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year\u2019s runner-up Wade returns to the stage where he shot into the forefront of the sport, reaching the final on debut in 2006 before claiming glory in 2007, and the 43-year-old is relishing another World Matchplay campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwenty years\u2026 It\u2019s still my favourite tournament and my favourite venue,\u201d revealed Wade, with only Taylor\u2019s 24 appearances in Blackpool topping Wade\u2019s 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a small intimate crowd in Blackpool, but they\u2019re genuinely passionate darts fans and that\u2019s a refreshing recipe for darts players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the first time I played here I was 23. I feel more relaxed nowadays, and I\u2019m more confident than the young man who first started.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would love to lift this title again and I think I will in the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2024 champion Humphries will begin his bid for his second title on Monday evening against Scottish World Cup star Cameron Menzies, who recently picked up his third ProTour title at the start of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2019 winner Rob Cross enters the fray against former UK Open champion Danny Noppert, while former World Champion Gerwyn Price takes on Martin Schindler, with the German number one still searching for his first win in Blackpool on his fifth appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emerging star Kevin Doets will make his Winter Gardens debut against former European Champion Ross Smith in a potentially explosive contest, and the Dutchman cannot wait to get started at the Empress Ballroom after a stellar 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese are the sorts of moments I\u2019ve been working for since I won a Tour Card,\u201d said Doets, a winner on the Players Championship circuit for the first time in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI won my first title, I made my first European Tour final and I pushed Luke Littler very close at the UK Open, so I\u2019m in a really good place right now and hopefully I can continue that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really enjoy playing on the big stages, and I really enjoy playing in front of a big crowd. I think it brings the best out of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the World Matchplay, and hopefully I\u2019m going to produce some good results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the conclusion of round one, round two will take place across Tuesday July 21 and Wednesday July 22, with the quarter-finals being staged on Thursday and Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The semi-finals will take place on Saturday July 25, before the final will be held on the evening of Sunday July 26, preceded by the fifth staging of the Betfred Women\u2019s World Matchplay on Sunday afternoon. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The World Matchplay kicks off tonight as Luke Littler hunts down back-to-back titles at the iconic Winter Gardens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-14965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t