2018_World_Matchplay_(darts)
2018 World Matchplay
Darts tournament
The 2018 BetVictor World Matchplay was the 25th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, from 21–29 July 2018.
Phil Taylor was the defending champion, after defeating Peter Wright 18–8 in the 2017 final to claim his 16th World Matchplay title, but he retired following the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship final. For the first time, the winner of the tournament, (Gary Anderson) received the Phil Taylor Trophy, which was renamed in his honour in January 2018.[1]
Gary Anderson hit a nine dart finish in the fourth leg of his quarter-final match against Joe Cullen, which was the seventh nine-dart finish in the World Matchplay and the first since 2014. Anderson overcame Cullen 19–17, facing two match darts against him at 14–15 scoreline.
Anderson went on to win his first World Matchplay title, defeating Mensur Suljović, 21–19 after extra time in the longest final in the tournament's history.[2]
The first round match between Kim Huybrechts and John Henderson made a piece of World Matchplay history, as it was the first time that a match was won by a single leg since the 1997 3rd place play-off. Huybrechts won the match 13–12 in a sudden-death leg, the first time the rule had been needed since it was introduced in 2013.
For the first time in World Matchplay history, no Englishmen progressed into the semi-finals, resulting in a first Matchplay final without an English player.
