Back at the end of May, we gave you our overview of the PDC World Matchplay. In that article we explored the history of this huge event as well as who has won it over the years.

This is a tournament which has been won by many of the best darts players of all time, including Phil Taylor whose name now adorns the trophy that he won a record 16 times.

This year’s event gets underway from the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on Saturday and it promises to be the biggest darts event of the summer!

Last year we backed the then in form Luke Humphries to do well in the event, but it was the top two players in the world, Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price that reached the final.

And it was van Gerwen who claimed an 18-14 win over the Welshman to earn his third World Matchplay title, second only to 16-time champion Taylor.

This year’s event promises to be just as exciting as we will explore below.

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PDC World Matchplay – Men’s Tournament Preview

The famous legs-based tournament gets underway this weekend at the Winter Gardens.

The top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit qualify for the tournament as seeds, while 16 other players qualify from the PDC Pro Tour as qualifiers.

Michael van Gerwen will be defending the title he won last year, beating Gerwyn Price 18-14 in the final.

This year’s competition could be one of the toughest yet with some of the best players in history in the qualifiers including ex-world champions like Gary Anderson, Raymond van Barneveld, Steve Beaton and Stephen Bunting.

In fact there are the same number of ex-World Champions in the qualifiers, as there are in the 16 top seeds (Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Rob Cross and current world champ, Michael Smith)

Also competing will be hugely talented Josh Rock, the 22 year old Irishman who is the current PDC World Youth Champion and who is now ranked 29^th in the world after his second year as a PDC professional.

Men’s World Matchplay Tournament Key Data

• Date – 15^th to 23^rd July
• Prize Money – £800,000
• Winners Prize – £200,000

Tournament Structure (leg format)

• First Round – First to 10 Legs (15^th – 17^th July)
• Second Round – First to 11 Legs (18^th – 19^th July)
• Quarter Finals – First to 16 Legs (20^th – 21^st July)
• Semi Finals – First to 17 Legs (22^nd July)
• Final – First to 18 Legs (23^rd July)

First Round Draw

The draw is a seeded draw with the structure of the draw meaning that players can see who they will play in their next match.

1. Michael Smith (1) v Steve Beaton
2. James Wade (16) v Chris Dobey
3. Danny Noppert (8) v Martin Schindler
4. Nathan Aspinall (9) v Krzysztof Ratajski
5. Gerwyn Price (4) v Stephen Bunting
6. Joe Cullen (13) v Mike De Decker
7. Rob Cross (5) v Daryl Gurney
8. Dave Chisnall (12) v Gary Anderson
9. Peter Wright (2) v Andrew Gilding
10. Ryan Searle (15) v Raymond van Barneveld
11. Jonny Clayton (7) v Gabriel Clemens
12. Dimitri Van den Bergh (10) v Ross Smith
13. Michael van Gerwen (3) v Brendan Dolan
14. Damon Heta (14) v Josh Rock
15. Luke Humphries (6) v Jose de Sousa
16. Dirk van Duijvenbode (11) v Kim Huybrechts

For the second round games, the winner of match 1 plays the winner of match 2, winner of match 3 takes on winner of match 4 and so on.

This pattern is repeated until the final is decided.

Latest Tournament Winner Odds with bet365 Sport

A look at the latest odds from bet365 Sport reveals the following:

• 4/1 joint favourites – Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen
• 9/2 – Michael Smith
• 14/1 – Luke Humphries
• 16/1 – Josh Rock, Peter Wright
• 18/1 – Jonny Clayton
• 22/1 – Dirk van Duijvenbode, Rob Cross, Dave Chisnall
• 25/1 – Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Dimitri van den Bergh
• 28/1 – Danny Noppert
• 40/1 bar

Clearly the bookmakers think that the men’s event is a three-way battle between Price, van Gerwen and Smith. Josh Rock’s chances at 16/1 are more indicative of his popularity with punters than his realistic chances of winning this event I feel.

For me, the improved form of Peter Wright in 2023 makes him a very appealing bet at 16/1, even if you decide to back him each way.

So with the men’s tournament preview in the bag, let’s now see how the women’s event is shaping up.

PDC World Matchplay – Women’s Tournament Preview

Last year, Fallon Sherrock defeated Aileen de Graaf in the final of the women’s tournament and she will be back this year to defend her title.

Only three women will return from the eight that competed last year (seeding shown in brackets); Fallon Sherrock (3^rd), Lisa Ashton (6^th) and Aileen de Graaf (7^th).

A number of players will be making their World Matchplay debut including Beau Graves and Mikuru Suzuki, who are the number 1 and 2 seeds respectively. Robin Byrne (4^th), Rhian O’Sullivan (5^th) and Noa-Lynn van Leuven (8^th) are the others making their first appearance in the event.

Women’s Tournament Key Data

• Date – 23^rd July (played before the men’s final)
• Prize Money – £25,000
• Winners Prize – £10,000

Tournament Structure (leg format)

• Quarterfinals – Best of 7 legs
• Semifinals – Best of 9 legs
• Final – Best of 11 legs

All matches in the women’s tournament are played before the men’s final on Sunday 23^rd July.

Quarterfinal Draw

1. Beau Greaves (1) v Noa-Lynn van Leiven (8)
2. Robyn Byrne (4) v Rhian O’Sullivan (5)
3. Mikuru Suzuki (2) v Aileen de Graaf (7)
4. Fallon Sherrock (3) v Lisa Ashton (6)

Semi Final Draw

• Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2
• Winner Match 3 v Winner Match 4

Final

• Winner Match 5 v Winner Match 6

Latest Women's Outright Winner Odds with bet365 Sport

A look at the latest odds on the women’s tournament with bet365 reveals the following:

• 1/2 favourite – Beau Greaves
• 9/2 – Fallon Sherrock
• 7/1 – Mikuru Suzuki
• 12/1 – Lisa Ashton
• 16/1 – Rhian O’Sullivan
• 25/1 – Aileen De Graaf
• 40/1 – Robyn Byrne
• 80/1 – Noa-Lynn van Leuven

The 19-year-old Greaves has won the WDF World Championship, World Masters, Australian Open and Dutch Open in 2022.

This year, the wonderfully nicknamed ‘Beau ‘N Arrow’ has added plenty more silverware to the cupboard. It includes the Isle of Man Classic, Isle of Man Masters, Isle of Man Open, Romanian Classic, Romanian Open, Welsh Classic and Welsh Open titles. Plus Greaves has landed seven wins in the PDC Women’s series from just 11 events so far this season.

Greaves is the obvious pick to do well in her first World Matchplay, with Sherrock and Suzuki likely to be battling out to face her in the final.

However, before the women play, the men’s tournament gets underway this weekend, so remember to tune in for top darts betting at bet365 throughout the tournament!

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