Know the full winners list of the darts World Matchplay and the prize money breakdown for the 2022 edition
Luke Humphries will be hoping to end the finest half of his darts career by winning his first televised ranking title at the Betfred World Matchplay this year. We examine the tournament’s past and list of champions.
PDC World Matchplay Darts All Time Past Winners List, History, Format, Rules, 2022 Prize Money Pool Breakdown
History of Betfred World Matchplay, Format, And All Edition Details
Every year since 1994, the World Matchplay has been held in the Empress Ballroom of the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Peter Wright currently holds the record after Larry Butler defeated Dennis Priestley by a score of 16–12. The fact that the entire tournament was sold out within three days of the tickets going on sale attests to its reputation as the second-largest PDC Tournament.
The 1995 World Matchplay ended up being Jocky Wilson’s final participation in a significant televised event. Wilson had advanced to the first round of the competition in 1994 and had defeated Rod Harrington in the first round of 1995, but a loss to Nigel Justice in the second round ultimately put an end to his professional career.
Matches in the World Matchplay had to be won by a minimum of two legs margin from 1994 to 2012. For instance, the first round was typically played over the best of 19 legs, though play continued if the score reached 9-9 until one of the players took a two-leg lead. Since the 2013 World Matchplay, sudden death has been used in first-round matches when the score is 12-12. This is because sudden death is used if a two-leg lead hasn’t been established after six extra legs.
For the 2022 edition, all matches in the first round will use the top 19 legs. In the meanwhile, all matchups in the second round will be best of 21 legs. All matchups in the quarterfinals will afterwards be best-of-31-legs affairs. The semi-final will similarly follow a Best of 33 Legs format, while the final will follow a Best of 35 Leg format.
All-time Winners of Betfred World Matchplay
There have been eleven different winners over the course of the tournament’s 26-year history: Phil Taylor (16), Rod Harrington (2), Michael van Gerwen (2), Gary Anderson (1), Larry Butler (1), Rob Cross (1), Peter Evison (1), Colin Lloyd (1), James Wade (1), Peter Wright (1), and Dimitri van den Bergh (1). Additionally, Dennis Priestley finished second three times in a row.
Following the retirement of the 16-time World Matchplay champion, the PDC announced that the Phil Taylor Trophy would be awarded to the winner starting in 2018.
| Year | Champion (average in final) | Score | Runner-up (average in final) | Prize money | Sponsor | Venue | |
| Total | Champion | ||||||
| 1994 | Larry Butler (92.70) | 16–12 | Dennis Priestley (91.59) | £42,400 | £10,000 | Proton Cars | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 1995 | Phil Taylor (90.72) | 16–11 | Dennis Priestley (87.63) | £42,400 | £10,000 | Webster’s | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 1996 | Peter Evison (100.51) | 16–14 | Dennis Priestley (96.67) | £46,000 | £12,000 | Webster’s | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 1997 | Phil Taylor (106.32) | 16–11 | Alan Warriner (98.42) | £46,000 | £12,000 | Webster’s | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 1998 | Rod Harrington (95.03) | 19–17 | Ronnie Baxter (94.07) | £58,000 | £14,000 | PDC | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 1999 | Rod Harrington (85.95) | 19–17 | Peter Manley (86.91) | £58,000 | £14,000 | PDC | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2000 | Phil Taylor (100.32) | 18–12 | Alan Warriner (97.14) | £58,000 | £14,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2001 | Phil Taylor (99.57) | 18–10 | Richie Burnett (90.99) | £65,000 | £14,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2002 | Phil Taylor (98.76) | 18–16 | John Part (94.14) | £75,500 | £15,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2003 | Phil Taylor (94.38) | 18–12 | Wayne Mardle (97.44) | £80,000 | £15,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2004 | Phil Taylor (100.20) | 18–8 | Mark Dudbridge (89.24) | £100,000 | £20,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2005 | Colin Lloyd (97.89) | 18–12 | John Part (94.53) | £120,000 | £25,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2006 | Phil Taylor (100.08) | 18–11 | James Wade (90.01) | £150,000 | £30,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2007 | James Wade (96.83) | 18–7 | Terry Jenkins (91.62) | £200,000 | £50,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2008 | Phil Taylor (109.47) | 18–9 | James Wade (102.58) | £300,000 | £60,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2009 | Phil Taylor (106.05) | 18–4 | Terry Jenkins (92.32) | £400,000 | £100,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2010 | Phil Taylor (105.16) | 18–12 | Raymond van Barneveld (100.11) | £400,000 | £100,000 | Stan James | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2011 | Phil Taylor (103.84) | 18–8 | James Wade (98.84) | £400,000 | £100,000 | Sky Bet | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2012 | Phil Taylor (98.97) | 18–15 | James Wade (95.92) | £400,000 | £100,000 | Betfair | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2013 | Phil Taylor (111.23) | 18–13 | Adrian Lewis (105.92) | £400,000 | £100,000 | BetVictor | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2014 | Phil Taylor (107.19) | 18–9 | Michael van Gerwen (101.49) | £450,000 | £100,000 | BetVictor | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2015 | Michael van Gerwen (99.91) | 18–12 | James Wade (90.37) | £450,000 | £100,000 | BetVictor | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2016 | Michael van Gerwen (103.93) | 18–10 | Phil Taylor (101.13) | £450,000 | £100,000 | BetVictor | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2017 | Phil Taylor (104.24) | 18–8 | Peter Wright (99.74) | £500,000 | £115,000 | BetVictor | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2018 | Gary Anderson (101.12) | 21–19 | Mensur Suljović (104.43) | £500,000 | £115,000 | BetVictor | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2019 | Rob Cross (95.16) | 18–13 | Michael Smith (95.91) | £700,000 | £150,000 | Betfred | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2020 | Dimitri Van den Bergh (98.31) | 18–10 | Gary Anderson (92.81) | £700,000 | £150,000 | Betfred | Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes |
| 2021 | Peter Wright (105.90) | 18–9 | Dimitri Van den Bergh (100.88) | £700,000 | £150,000 | Betfred | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
| 2022 | TBD | vs | TBD | £800,000 | £200,000 | Betfred | Winter Gardens, Blackpool |
2022 Betfred World Matchplay Details and Prize Money
The World Matchplay will be held at the Betfred World Matchplay in 2022 for the 29th time in a row by the Professional Darts Corporation. In Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, the competition will run from July 16 to July 24, 2022. Peter Wright is the reigning champion after prevailing 18-9 over Dimitri Van den Bergh in the 2021 final. A separate women’s event will also be held in this competition on the day of the main tournament’s final.
| Stage & Number of Players | Prize Money (Total: £800,000) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £200,000 |
| Runner-Up | (1) | £100,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £50,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £30,000 |
| Second round | (8) | £15,000 |
| First round | (16) | £10,000 |
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