World Matchplay Darts Predictions & Betting tips
Check out our range of PDC World Matchplay 2025 betting tips throughout the tournament, with individual tips on every match on each game at the Winter Garden in Blackpool in July!
World Matchplay Darts 2025 - Presentation And Predictions
Darts fans, don’t forget your bucket and spade and kiss-me-quick hats! The PDC World Matchplay returns to the Winter Gardens this July in the glorious seaside resort of Blackpool!
Across nine days of darting action, the top 16 seeds in the world, along with 16 qualifiers, will battle it out to win one of the three “Triple Crown” events in Darts. A tournament that many players rank in equal esteem as the World Championship itself.
So remember to check out all the latest news, statistics and predictions on this famous summer tournament right here at SportyTrader!
A History Of The World Matchplay
Founded in 1994 and consistently held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool each July, The World Matchplay Championship is the biggest and most important leg play tournament in the world of darts.
The tournament is a highlight of the summer sporting calendar and has seen just 13 winners in its history.
It is regarded as one of the darts “majors” and, alongside the World Championship, is the tournament that all top players are desperate to win every season.
Previous winners include:
- Phil Taylor - 16 wins
- Michael van Gerwen - 3 wins
- Rod Harrington - 2 wins
- James Wade, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright, Dmitri Van den Bergh, Larry Butler, Peter Evison, Colin Lloyd, Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall and Luke Humphries - 1 win.
PDC World Matchplay 2025 - Winners Prediction
Last year, Luke Humphries landed a second Triple Crown tournament win to his CV when winning the World Matchplay title, beating Michael van Gerwen 18-15 in a dramatic final.
Humphries is amongst the favourites for the 2025 tournament too, but it is the in-form young superstar and current World Champion Luke Littler that leads the betting as the 6/4 favourite.
In truth, both these players look like the dominant forces in World Darts at the moment and with them likely to be drawn in separate halves of the tournament, a Littler vs. Humphries final looks a good bet, and our money would be on Littler to win a close one.
Beginner Guide: How Does The PDC World Matchplay Work?
32 players compete in the PDC World Matchplay each year. The top 16 seeds in the World Darts rankings are seeded 1-16 in the tournament. They are then drawn against one of the 16 qualifiers for the tournament, who are based on the 16 top qualifiers from the ProTour Order of Merit.
The draw is staggered so that the top seed is in one half of the draw, while the second seed is placed in the other half of the draw. The same process follows for the remaining 14 seeds to ensure a fair split of seeds between the two halves of the draw.
That means that once the seeds are announced and the draw for the first round of matches is made, then players and punters can potentially work out who they will face in later rounds of the tournament.
The number of legs contested in each round increases as the tournament progresses as follows:
- First Round - Best of 19 (first to 10)
- Second Round - Best of 21 (first to 11)
- Quarterfinals - Best of 31 (first to 16)
- Semifinals - Best of 33 (first to 17)
- Final - Best of 35 (first to 18)
Another key rule for Leg Play darts in the World Matchplay, players must win by two clear legs. Up to five extra legs may be played in a game to try and land a winner by two legs. However, if by the fifth extra game the players cannot be separated, the fifth extra game will decide the winner and players will throw for the bullseye to throw first in the decider.
Other PDC World Matchplay 2025 Outright Betting Markets
Alongside betting on which player will win the PDC World Matchplay tournament outright, there are a number of other great outright markets you can bet on closer to when the tournament starts in July. Some of the markets to look out for include:
To Reach The World Matchplay Final
Alongside backing who will win the World Matchplay, you can analyse each half of the draw and try to work out which two players are most likely to contest the final.
To Have The Most 180s in the Tournament
Another popular outright bet is backing a player to finish the tournament with the highest number of 180 scores in the tournament. The winner of this market is usually a player who reaches at least the semi-finals, if not the final itself.
Will There Be a 9-Dart Finish In The Tournament?
The pinnacle of darts is the elusive 9-dart finish and while it is hit markedly more often nowadays than in previous years, it is still a rare event. Betting on whether there will, or won’t be a 9-dart finish in the World Matchplay tournament (or even an individual game) is another popular betting option.
Our tips for how to better predict PDC World Matchplay matches
Betting on the PDC World Matchplay requires a little more analysis of each game than standard set play tournaments. Leg format is a different beast to Set play and adjustments need to be made when researching games to take that into account. We’ve outlined five tips below to help you when placing your bets on the World Matchplay this summer.
- Check Each Player's Leg Play Record
- What Is Each Player's Current Form?
- Remember: The Longer The Match, The More Chance The Better Player Prevails
- Players Who Can Get The Crowd On Their Side Have A Big Advantage
- View In-Play Markets As Well As Pre-Match Markets For Best Value
Let’s take a closer look at what we mean by these tips in a bit more detail.
1. Check Each Player's Leg Play Record
Most darts tournaments are played over a Set play format. Therefore, records in those tournaments can be misleading when it comes to actual legs won, which is the format used in Leg play. You may need to dig down into a players wins and losses in recent Set play tournaments and work out how many legs they are winning and losing in each game, as well as checking out their form in Leg play events (like previous World Matchplay events, or the Sky Premier League).
2. What is Each Players Current Form?
Being in form as a darts player is very important as players will be more confident, consistent and hit more doubles and have a higher three-dart average. Players out of form can try too hard and put themselves under pressure to turn that run around. Analyse the current form of the players competing.
3. Remember, The Longer The Match, The More Chance The Better Player Prevails
Early on in the World Matchplay, games are played over a shorter format. This tends to afford the lower-ranked players a better chance of an upset win as over a longer game with more legs, the better player tends to win.
4. Players Who Get The Crowd On Their Side Have A Huge Advantage
The crowds at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool are passionate, vociferous and at times unforgiving. Any player that can harness the energy of the crowd and have it work for them is at a huge advantage. Especially against an opponent that the crowd doesn’t take to.
5. View In-Play Markets As Well As Pre-Match Markets For Best Value
A darts match is a fluid event and as such, the odds on markets can change a great deal once the game is in progress. As such, while backing pre-match markets is fine, you can also find some great value bets in the In-Play betting markets too.
What Not To Do For PDC World Matchplay Darts 2025
We want you to enjoy betting on the PDC World Matchplay 2025! With that in mind, we have put together a shortlist of some things to avoid when placing a wager either pre-match or In-Play on any game at the tournament.
- Don’t place a bet without doing at least some research into the players competing.
- Don’t just bet on a single market. Match winner bets are fun, but value can be found in many other bets, as in whether there will be a nine-dart finish in a match or what double will be hit by the player to win the current leg.
- Don’t just stick to pre-match betting. Darts offers extensive opportunities for some fantastic In-Play betting too.
- Never chase your losses.
- Don’t bet more than what you can comfortably afford to lose.
- Don’t underestimate player tendencies. Players who score well but who struggle on doubles may not be the better option against a player who may average a lower score with three darts, but who hits the doubles consistently.
Avoid these mistakes when betting on the World Matchplay and you should find that you not only bet responsibly, but you should also start to pick the better-judged and good value bets to make on the games you wager on!
PDC World Matchplay Prediction: statistics you need to know
- Only three players have won more than one World Matchplay title. Phil Taylor (16), Michael van Gerwen (3) and Rod Harrington (2).
- The trophy is now named the “Phil Taylor World Matchplay Trophy” after the retired darting legend who won the tournament 16 times in 24 appearances and reached one other final too.
- The tournament is played over leg play (a race to a stated number of legs) rather than set play.
- Matches must be won by two legs, with up to five extra legs played to decide the winner.
- If a fifth extra leg is played, this will be a sudden-death decider.
- £800,000 is up for grabs in the tournament, with a £200,000 prize for the winner.
In A Nutshell: how to make good predictions for the PDC World Matchplay 2025?
If you want to pick winners from the matches taking place at the PDC World Matchplay 2025, then you need to approach each match with a strategy in mind and having completed some analysis of the players involved.
Research really is fundamental to making better darts predictions, especially where previous history between players, the format of the game, its duration and how well the player is received by the crowd (or not) can play an important role.
Avoiding some of the errors mentioned above is a great way to help avoid making poorly judged bets, but be wary of wanting your favourite player to win a match and backing based on that belief, rather than what the data suggests. The context of a match is vital in darts - many players can have a good record against an opponent in floor (non-televised) events, but struggle when the game is in a high-pressure televised setting.
Don’t forget too that there is plenty of help available in the shape of our darts prediction team at SportyTrader. They will be conducting their own analysis of each game to help come up with better-judged value tips which you can back yourself or use to help you make your own bets on this hugely popular darts tournament!
Our Darts World Matchplay Predictions of the moment
There are no previews at the moment for this competition
Darts World Matchplay: the best odds to bet
Odds are not yet available for this competition.
World Matchplay Darts : Frequently Asked Questions
The World Matchplay is the third of the Triple Crown tournaments played each season in darts and it is played using a leg format rather than sets. It features the top 32 players in the world competing in a seeded knockout tournament over nine days in late July each year.
Yes, the World Matchplay is the last of the “Triple Crown” tournaments played each year on the PDC Tour. The other events include the PDC World Championship (December to January) and the Premier League (February to May).
The World Matchplay tournament takes place at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool every summer in late July. The 2025 tournament will run from July 19th to July 27th.
Matches are played in a leg format, which means players have to win a certain number of legs to win the game. For example, in a best of 21 legs match, a player needs to win 11 legs to win the match.
Phil Taylor holds the record for World Matchplay wins with 16. Michael van Gerwen is second on the list with three victories.
Sky Sports is home to many of the major PDC Darts tournaments each year and it has the rights to show live coverage of the World Matchplay.
