This article will tell you everything you need to know about World Matchplay darts betting, including the most popular bet types. Find out how you can hit the bullseye using our expert predictions, the latest odds, and more!

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According to the PDC, the 2023 World Matchplay is scheduled to take place on the 15th – 23rd July.

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Darts World Matchplay Betting Odds 2023

2023 World Matchplay Winner Odds

PlayerOddsBookmaker
Michael van Gerwen4/1bet365
Gerwyn Price4/1Betway
Michael Smith5/1BetVictor
Luke Humphries14/1bet365
Josh Rock14/1Parimatch
Peter Wright16/1William Hill
Jonny Clayton20/1Betfred
Rob Cross20/1Betway
Dirk van Duijvenbode25/1bet365
Gary Anderson25/1Betfred
Dimitri Van den Bergh28/1bet365
Nathan Aspinall28/1bet365
Damon Heta40/1William Hill
Danny Noppert40/1Betfred
Krzysztof Ratajski66/1Parimatch

Darts World Matchplay Betting Tips & Predictions 2023

32 players will line up for the highly anticipated World Matchplay tournament soon, the most promising of which we have described below in this section.

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    Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen is targeting a fourth title after entering the winner’s circle once again in Blackpool in 2022, with an 18-14 win over fierce rival Gerwyn Price in the final. Van Gerwen, when in full flow, is unstoppable at times, and the treble 20 bed will take a bit of a pounding at the Winter Gardens. Although he is the third seed, Van Gerwen is unsurprisingly top of the betting markets, and he is trading at around the 4/1 mark.

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    One man desperate to stop van Gerwen will be Michael Smith. Having claimed the World Championship in sensational style at Alexandra Palace back in January, “Bully Boy” as he is often referred to, is continuing to grow in stature, and nothing seems to faze the World No.1. His odds of 5/1 with most bookmakers seem to be a fair price. Don’t be surprised if Smith claims the Matchplay title!

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    Meanwhile, Peter Wright should never be underestimated. The man known on the circuit as Snakebite will relish the challenge here, and the minimum he should be targeting is a quarter-final spot. While he’s trading at 16/1 with many bookmakers, the Scot could well go on a deep run.

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    Elsewhere, one player that could be a dark horse is Gary Anderson. With 19 televised titles to his name, Anderson is accustomed to success, and when he’s in form, he can win matches in the blink of an eye. Although he’s available at around the 25/1 mark, perhaps this seems a bit long given his pedigree, and we think the odds ought to be a little shorter. Van Gerwen and co have been warned!

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    It is one of the biggest events of the PDC.

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    It is part of Darts Triple Crown.

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    Total prize pool for the World Matchplay darts stands at £800,000.

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    The winner will collect a cheque for £200,000.

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    It will be a good form guide for the second half of darts season.

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    Ladbrokes

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    Coral

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    Betfred

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    bet365

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    William Hill

There are lots of great ways punters can enjoy betting on darts. Below, we have listed a small selection of the most popular markets.

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    Outright Bet To Win This market requires you to bet on the player that you believe will win the World Matchplay. As long as your player wins, your bet will pay out.

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    Each-Way Bet An each-way bet is very similar to the outright winning bet above, only it allows your player to at least reach the final and lose. If they win, so much the better, as you will get paid on the win and the place. But if they lose in the final, you at least get a return back for the place portion of the bet.

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    Leg Betting Darts games are made up of legs, which in turn win sets. The norm, not the rule, is that each set is played over the best of five legs, but this does vary between tournaments. In the World Matchplay, games are played for the best number of legs, which rises as the tournament progresses. Many bookmakers allow punters to bet on which player will win a certain leg.

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    Average Betting Although this won’t decide the match, darters’ averages are recorded, with bookmakers using these averages for over/under bets. So, if you think that the 2019 champion – who averaged 95.16 in his winning final – will throw higher than 100 in a match (known as a ton plus), then you can place a bet predicting exactly that. If he manages to post a high enough average, you win.

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    Most number of 180s Like most other majors, the World Matchplay darts is no different when it comes to heavy scoring. The triple 20 will take a bit of a battering from the likes of Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen, who usually make their visits to the oche count. Although you can bet on a player to produce a nine-dart leg, the 180s will usually stir up a lot of interest, and it certainly gets the crowd on their feet flashing ‘180’ cards when a player pops up with one.

The second-longest running event on the PDC Tour, the World Darts Matchplay was the first staged in 1994, and it is held in high regard, as it is the third of seven ranked majors during the calendar year. And in 1994, Larry Butler shocked the darting community when he won the inaugural event, stunning Dennis ‘The Menace’ Priestly in the final.

Although the Winter Gardens used to stage the opera when it first opened its doors in 1878, it has become a haven for darts fans who make the pilgrimage up north annually to see the stars in action. In the early 1990s, the then PDC Tournament director and co-founder of the World Darts Matchplay, Tommy Cox, put forward the idea of a summer tournament, and the organisers haven’t looked back.

Since its inception, the Winter Gardens in Blackpool has had the privilege of hosting the World Darts Matchplay event, and the field of 32 will feature 16 of the world’s top players based on their ranking in the PDC Order of Merit. The format has changed very little over the years, as the first round consists of a race to 10 legs, while the semi-final is first to 17 legs, and the final the first to 18 legs affair.

There has been many a majestic moment captured over the years, including Phil Taylor’s raft of records. Asides from claiming 16 World Matchplay titles, Taylor, the undisputed king of the oche, produced the first nine-darter in 2002. Oh, and there was of course the 2013 semi-final between Adrian Lewis and Van Gerwen when the Dutchman missed a double 13 for a 146 finish before Lewis sealed victory and dropped to his knees in pure ecstasy.

Today, the World Matchplay has grown into the second biggest PDC Tournament in terms of status and prestige. American Larry Butler beat Dennis Priestley 16–12 to win the inaugural event. Following the retirement of 16-time champion Phil Taylor in 2017 who, before reaching and losing in the World Championship final in his last ever professional appearance, claimed this event one final time, the PDC announced that from 2018 onwards, the World Matchplay champion will receive the Phil Taylor Trophy.

In 2022, Van Gerwen stormed past Gerwyn Price 18-14 in the final to lift the World Matchplay darts title for the third time in his career. The ‘Green Machine’ had a torrid start as he found himself 4-0 down, but he used his nous to surge to victory, which was capped with brilliant finishes, taking out 130, 114, and 121 in the final four legs.

Recent Darts World Matchplay Winners

YearChampionCountry
2022Michael van GerwenThe Netherlands
2021Peter WrightScotland
2019Rob CrossBelgium
2018Gary AndersonScotland
2017Phil TaylorEngland
2016Michael van GerwenThe Netherlands
2015Michael van GerwenThe Netherlands
2014Phil TaylorEngland
2013Phil TaylorEngland
2012Phil TaylorEngland
2011Phil TaylorEngland

The World Matchplay is the third of seven ranking majors in the darts calendar, and takes place each year in and between the final two weekends of July.

It has only ever been staged at the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool since its inaugural event in 1994, with the exception of 2020. It signed a new three-year deal last summer that will see the Winter Gardens host the event until 2025.

32 players make up the field for the Matchplay, drawn from the top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit at the end of June. Each of the latter, as seeded players, take on one of 16 unseeded ProTour Order of Merit qualifiers.

Matches in the first round are played in a first to 10 legs format, with second-round matches increasing to the first to 11. The Quarter-Finals are then played as first to 16 legs, with the Semi-Finals first to 17 and the Final first to 18.

World Matchplay Key Stats

  • Nobody has won the Darts World Matchplay more than Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, who has claimed this event 16 times, equalling his record of 16 wins in the World Championships.
  • Taylor also enjoyed an incredible 38-game unbeaten run from 2008-2015.
  • There have only been 10 different Matchplay champions: Phil Taylor, Rod Harrington, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Larry Butler, Rob Cross, Peter Evison, Colin Lloyd, James Wade and Peter Wright.
  • Dennis Priestley finished runner-up in three consecutive years.
  • There are only five nationalities to have won this tournament: players from the USA, Scotland, the Netherlands, Belgium and England.
  • Three finals have gone to sudden death, the most recent of them being in 2018, when Gary Anderson beat Mensur Suljovic 21-19 in what is considered the best World Matchplay final.
  • The total prize pot has risen over the past few years, as it now stands at £800,000.
  • Adrian Lewis holds the records for most 180s in a World Matchplay darts tournament (56), a match (19).

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    2nd – 8th October, 2023, World Grand Prix: The next major after the World Matchplay, this event takes place in Leicester.

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    11th – 19th November, 2023, Grand Slam of Darts: A month before the World Championship begins, the Grand Slam of Darts takes place in Wolverhampton. This tournament features the winners and finalists of all the big events in the last 12 months to form something of a ‘champion of champions’.

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    15th December, 2023 – 3rd January, 2024, World Darts Championship: Beginning in December and taking place over the festive period, the World Championship is the biggest darts event of the year.

The best Darts World Matchplay betting sites are Betfred, William Hill, and Ladbrokes.

The 2023 World Matchplay darts tournament is available to watch on Sky Sports.

The World Matchplay is usually held at the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. However, due to the global pandemic, the 2020 edition was held at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes behind closed doors.

Phil Taylor dominated the World Matchplay event, lifting the title on a whopping 16 occasions.

The World Matchplay darts tournament always takes place between the last two weekends in July, with the 2023 edition taking place between the 15th and 23rd.

The prize fund for the tournament in 2023 is £800,000, with £200,000 reserved for the winner.

Of course – this is known as an outright bet on the winner of the World Matchplay.

You can indeed. In 2018, Gary Anderson landed a nine-darter in his World Matchplay game against Joe Cullen, so that year, you would have won this bet.

Launched in 1994, the World Matchplay is the PDC’s second-longest running darts tournament behind the World Darts Championship. This event is famous for the fan atmosphere and their closeness to the darters throwing at the oche. For both of those reasons, the Darts World Matchplay has become second only to the Alexandra Palace’s festive World Championships in terms of prize money, prestige, and popularity. It’s not only the players who love it, but fans and bettors too!

WRITTEN BY Ben Gibson
View all posts by Ben Gibson

Ben has been writing professionally for over a decade. His articles are a great outlet for his inexhaustible supply of sporting facts and enthusiasm. He resides in Yorkshire, where his work is powered by the ever-present sound of a kettle.

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