Stan James World Matchplay
Encyclopedia
The Skybet World Matchplay is a darts tournament, played in a legs format, and is run by the Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...

 (PDC). The tournament is sponsored by Skybet (who had previously sponsored the UK Open and the World Grand Prix) who take over from Stan James after 10 years.

The World Matchplay has been played yearly since 1994 in the Empress Ballroom
Empress Ballroom
The Empress Ballroom is a 3,000 capacity entertainment venue, in Blackpool Lancashire, England. It is located within the Winter Gardens, a large entertainment complex in the town centre....

 at the Winter Gardens
Winter Gardens, Blackpool
The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in the town centre of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It has twelve different venues, including a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, incorporating various elements built between 1875 and...

, Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

. The first ever winner was Larry Butler
Larry Butler (darts player)
Larry Butler is an American darts player, who was the winner of the 1994 PDC World Matchplay Darts Championship. This success made him the first, and so far only American player to have won a major darts tournament in Europe....

, who beat Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...

 16-12, and the current holder is Phil Taylor. It is regarded as the second biggest PDC Tournament, status shown by the fact the whole tournament was sold out within 3 days of the tickets being on sale.

The 1995 World Matchplay turned out to be Jocky Wilson
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...

's last appearance in a major televised event. Wilson had reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural tournament in 1994 and he beat Rod Harrington in the 1st round in 1995, but a 2nd round defeat against Nigel Justice was effectively the end of his career.

The difference between this and other darts tournaments is that there is no deciding leg - players must win by two clear legs. The first round is usually played over the first to 10 legs, but if the score reaches 9-9, play continues until either player gains a 2 leg lead.

Sponsors

There have been three different sponsors for the World Matchplay:
Sponsor Years
Proton Cars  1994
Webster's
Samuel Webster's
Webster's , was a brewery founded in 1838 by Samuel Webster which operated at the Fountain Head Brewery in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England until 1996. Its two most famous brands, Webster's Green Label, a light mild, and Yorkshire Bitter continue to be sold, although the cask...

 
1995 - 1996
None 1997 - 1999
Stan James
Stan James
Stan James is a British bookmaker established in 1973, and trades online under the name StanJames.com. The company is based in Marina Bay, Gibraltar with offices in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The companies which operate Stan James, Stan James Limited and Stan James Limited, are privately-held companies...

 
2000 - 2010
Skybet  2011 - Present

Finals

Year Winner (average in final) Score Runner-up (average in final) Prize fund Champion Runner-up
1994
1994 World Matchplay Darts
The 1994 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the first World Matchplay tournament to be held at Winter Gardens, and was sponsored by Malaysian automaker Proton. The tournament was won by Larry Butler.-Results:Players must...

  Larry Butler
Larry Butler (darts player)
Larry Butler is an American darts player, who was the winner of the 1994 PDC World Matchplay Darts Championship. This success made him the first, and so far only American player to have won a major darts tournament in Europe....

16-12   Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...

£42,800 £10,000 £6,000
1995
1995 World Matchplay Darts
The 1995 Websters World Matchplay was the second annual World Matchplay darts tournament organised by the World Darts Council . The Winter Gardens, Blackpool played host to the event for the second year running.Seven former world champions were in the field...

  Phil Taylor 16-11   Dennis Priestley £42,800 £10,000 £6,000
1996
1996 World Matchplay Darts
The 1996 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was brewery Samuel Webster's second and final year as tournament sponsor...

  Peter Evison
Peter Evison
Peter Evison is a darts player who has enjoyed a long career in the game. His greatest achievements were to win the 1989 Winmau World Masters and the 1996 World Matchplay. He has also come close to winning the World Championship on a number of occasions.Before appearing in a major tournament...

 (100.51)
16-14   Dennis Priestley (96.67) £52,000 £12,000 £7,000
1997
1997 World Matchplay Darts
The 1997 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The tournament was won by Phil Taylor.-1st Round:*Dean Allsopp v Bob Anderson 5 - 8...

  Phil Taylor 16-11   Alan Warriner
Alan Warriner-Little
Alan Warriner-Little is an English professional darts player. He currently lives in Crosby, Cumbria and plays with the nickname The Iceman...

£48,000 £12,000 £6,000
1998
1998 World Matchplay Darts
The 1998 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The tournament ran from 27 July through 1 August 1998, and was won by Rod Harrington.-1st Round:...

  Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington is a former English darts player. He used the nickname The Prince of Style for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoast for his games...

19-17   Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...

£58,000 £14,000 £7,000
1999
1999 World Matchplay Darts
The 1999 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The tournament was won by Rod Harrington.-1st Round:best of 19 legs *Rod Harrington - John Lowe 10 - 7...

  Rod Harrington (85.95) 19-17   Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...

 (86.91)
£58,000 £14,000 £7,000
2000
2000 World Matchplay Darts
The 2000 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the first World Matchplay tournament to be sponsored by UK bookmaker Stan James...

  Phil Taylor (100.32) 18-12   Alan Warriner (97.14) £58,000 £14,000 £7,000
2001
2001 World Matchplay Darts
The 2001 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the second World Matchplay tournament to be sponsored by UK bookmaker Stan James...

  Phil Taylor (99.57) 18-10   Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:...

 (90.99)
£65,000 £14,000 £7,000
2002
2002 World Matchplay Darts
The 2002 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. Sponsored by UK bookmaker Stan James, the tournament ran from 28 July through 3 August 2002, and was won by Phil Taylor.-1st Round:...

  Phil Taylor (98.76) 18-16   John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...

 (94.14)
£75,500 £15,000 £7,500
2003
2003 World Matchplay Darts
The 2003 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the fourth World Matchplay tournament to be sponsored by UK bookmaker Stan James...

  Phil Taylor (94.38) 18-12   Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...

 (97.44)
£80,000 £15,000 £8,000
2004
2004 World Matchplay Darts
The 2004 Stan James World Matchplay Darts Championship was held between 25–31 July 2004 at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool.-Tournament Review - Day 1:Three games this evening as the World Matchplay got underway...

  Phil Taylor (100.20) 18-8   Mark Dudbridge
Mark Dudbridge
Mark Daniel Dudbridge is an English professional darts player.-Darts career:He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes...

 (89.24)
£100,000 £20,000 £10,000
2005
2005 World Matchplay Darts
The 2005 Stan James World Matchplay was the 12th staging of the major darts tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool between July 24 and July 30, 2005....

  Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...

 (97.89)
18-12   John Part (94.53) £120,000 £25,000 £12,500
2006
2006 World Matchplay Darts
The 2006 Stan James World Matchplay was the 13th staging of the major darts tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool between July 23 and July 29, 2006.-Prize money:...

  Phil Taylor (100.08) 18-11   James Wade (90.01) £150,000 £30,000 £15,000
2007
2007 World Matchplay Darts
The 2007 Stan James World Matchplay was the 14th annual staging of a professional darts tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was held at its traditional home, the Winter Gardens, Blackpool between July 22 and July 29...

  James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...

 (96.83)
18-7   Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...

 (91.62)
£200,000 £50,000 £20,000
2008
2008 World Matchplay Darts
The 2008 Stan James World Matchplay was the 15th annual staging of the tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place from Sunday July 20 to Saturday July 26. It was staged at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool...

  Phil Taylor (109.47) 18-9   James Wade (102.58) £300,000 £60,000 £30,000
2009
2009 World Matchplay Darts
The 2009 Stan James World Matchplay was the 16th annual staging of the tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place from Sunday 19 July to Sunday 26 July...

  Phil Taylor (106.05) 18-4   Terry Jenkins (92.32) £400,000 £100,000 £50,000
2010
2010 World Matchplay Darts
The 2010 Stan James World Matchplay was the 17th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place from 17–25 July....

  Phil Taylor (105.16) 18-12   Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...

 (100.11)
£400,000 £100,000 £50,000
2011 Phil Taylor (103.84) 18-8   James Wade (98.84) £400,000 £100,000 £50,000

Finalists

Over the course of the tournaments 15 year existence, there have only been six different winners: Phil Taylor (12), Larry Butler
Larry Butler (darts player)
Larry Butler is an American darts player, who was the winner of the 1994 PDC World Matchplay Darts Championship. This success made him the first, and so far only American player to have won a major darts tournament in Europe....

 (1), Peter Evison
Peter Evison
Peter Evison is a darts player who has enjoyed a long career in the game. His greatest achievements were to win the 1989 Winmau World Masters and the 1996 World Matchplay. He has also come close to winning the World Championship on a number of occasions.Before appearing in a major tournament...

 (1), Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington is a former English darts player. He used the nickname The Prince of Style for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoast for his games...

 (2), Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...

 (1) and James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...

 (1). Dennis Priestley was also runner-up for three consecutive years.
Player Won Runner-up
  Phil Taylor 12 0
  Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington is a former English darts player. He used the nickname The Prince of Style for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoast for his games...

2 0
  James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...

1 2
  Larry Butler
Larry Butler (darts player)
Larry Butler is an American darts player, who was the winner of the 1994 PDC World Matchplay Darts Championship. This success made him the first, and so far only American player to have won a major darts tournament in Europe....

1 0
  Peter Evison
Peter Evison
Peter Evison is a darts player who has enjoyed a long career in the game. His greatest achievements were to win the 1989 Winmau World Masters and the 1996 World Matchplay. He has also come close to winning the World Championship on a number of occasions.Before appearing in a major tournament...

1 0
  Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...

1 0
  Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...

0 3
  Alan Warriner
Alan Warriner-Little
Alan Warriner-Little is an English professional darts player. He currently lives in Crosby, Cumbria and plays with the nickname The Iceman...

0 2
  John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...

0 2
  Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...

0 2
  Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...

0 1
  Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...

0 1
  Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:...

0 1
|-
  Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...

0 1
  Mark Dudbridge
Mark Dudbridge
Mark Daniel Dudbridge is an English professional darts player.-Darts career:He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes...

0 1
  Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...

0 1

Records

Nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...

 : In the 2002
2002 World Matchplay Darts
The 2002 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. Sponsored by UK bookmaker Stan James, the tournament ran from 28 July through 3 August 2002, and was won by Phil Taylor.-1st Round:...

 tournament, Phil Taylor hit the first ever nine dart finish to be broadcast live on UK television. This was described by Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...

 as the greatest darting moment ever.
In the 2010
2010 World Matchplay Darts
The 2010 Stan James World Matchplay was the 17th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place from 17–25 July....

 tournament, Raymond van Barneveld achieved the second nine darts finish in the Matchplay against Denis Ovens in the first round
In the 2011 tournament, John Part hit his first ever televised nine dart finish against Mark Webster, Part went on to lose the match 10-8.

Longest match in history : The finals of 1998 and 1999 both went to 36 legs as a result of the format of "2 clear legs".
Longest first round match : The longest first round match ever played was the 2002 clash between Peter Manley and Bob Anderson. Scheduled to be first to 10 legs, the match went to 32 legs with Anderson winning 17-15. A second round match in 1994 between Jim Watkins and Keith Deller scheduled for best of 17 legs ended after 34 legs with Watkins the winner 18-16.
Longest unbeaten run : Phil Taylor 28 consecutive match wins from 2000 until his defeat in the quarter finals of the 2005 event to John Part. Taylor has only lost six matches in the history of the event:
  • 1994 Bob Anderson 9-11 (sudden death, 2nd Round)
  • 1996 Peter Evison 1-8 (2nd Round)
  • 1998 Ronnie Baxter 10-13 (Quarter Finals)
  • 1999 Peter Manley 14-17 (Semi Finals),
  • 2005 John Part 11-16 (Quarter Finals)
  • 2007 Terry Jenkins 11-17 (Semi Finals).

Whitewashes
In a short preliminary round match in 1996, Mick Manning beat Garry Haynes 5-0.
The first whitewashes in longer match came in 1997 when Steve Brown
Steve Brown (darts player)
Steve Brown is an English-born American darts player who had the majority of his success during the 1990s when he finished third at the inaugural Professional Darts Corporation's version of the World Championship in 1994 - after the majority of top players decided to separate from the British...

 beat Sean Downs 8-0 and Phil Taylor beat Gary Mawson
Gary Mawson
Gary Mawson is a Canadian-born American darts player, who currently resides in North Royalton, Ohio, United States. He moved from Niagara Falls to Ohio to further increase his chances of success on the growing American darts circuit. He uses the nickname The Mauler for his matches...

 8-0. Mawson was the first player to suffer two whitewashes when he lost to Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington
Rod Harrington is a former English darts player. He used the nickname The Prince of Style for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoast for his games...

 0-8 in 1998.
Other whitewashes:
  • 2002 Phil Taylor 10-0 Shayne Burgess
  • 2002 John Part 10-0 Mark Walsh
  • 2003 Phil Taylor 10-0 Les Fitton
  • 2004 John Part 10-0 Colin Monk
  • 2004 Ronnie Baxter 10-0 Peter Evison
  • 2010 Gary Anderson 10-0 Robert Thornton
  • 2011 James Wade 10-0 Jamie Caven

Heaviest defeat : Phil Taylor's 16-1 thrashing of Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC...

 in the 2007 Quarter finals is the biggest victory margin in the tournament's history.

Media coverage

The World Matchplay has been broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...

 since the first tournament.

Previous incarnation

During the 1980s, the British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....

 staged an unrelated version - the MFI World Matchplay championship. It was short-lived but historic in darts as it featured the first ever televised nine dart finish
Nine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...

 on October 13, 1984 when John Lowe
John Lowe
John Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...

 won £102,000 for the perfect game of darts against Keith Deller
Keith Deller
Keith Deller is an English darts player, who won the Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 1983. He was the first qualifier ever to win the championship and remains one of the youngest champions in history...

. Lowe went on to win the title that year. The tournament was broadcast on ITV and came from The Fulcrum Centre, Slough. ITV ceased coverage after the 1987 championships, and also pulled coverage of the World Masters in 1988 leaving the BBC as the only broadcaster of darts.

The complete list of final results:
Year Winner (average in final) Score Runner-up (average in final) Sponsor Prize fund Champion Runner-up
1984   John Lowe
John Lowe
John Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...

5-3 (sets
Set (darts)
A set in darts consists of a sequence of legs played, ending when the count of legs won meets certain criteria. Throwing first is considered an advantage in a leg, so players alternate who throws first in each leg during the set....

)
  Cliff Lazarenko
Cliff Lazarenko
Cliff Lazarenko is an English professional darts player who competed for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation...

MFI £36,000 £12,000 £5,000
1985   Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...

5-4   Bob Anderson
Bob Anderson (darts player)
Robert Charles "Bob" Anderson is a former world darts champion. He was ranked as world number one for over three years in the late 1980s. Nicknamed The Limestone Cowboy, he lives in Clevedon in Somerset.-Before Darts:Anderson threw his first darts maximum at the age of just five...

MFI £41,000 £15,000 £6,000
1986   Mike Gregory 5-1   Jocky Wilson
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...

MFI £41,000 £15,000 £6,000
1987   Bob Anderson 5-1   John Lowe MFI £47,400 £18,000 £7,000
1988   Eric Bristow 5-1   Bob Sinnaeve
Bob Sinnaeve
Robert "Bob" Sinnaeve is a Canadian darts player who won his national title five times.-Early career:Sinnaeve took up darts in 1973 as an alternative to bowling, as he felt the darts circuit would give him more time to spend with his wife, Judy...

MFI £52,000 £21,000 £7,500

External links

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