In the Betfred World Matchplay, Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler go head to head in a titanic first round, while Nathan Aspinall begins his title defence against Luke Woodhouse.
Aspinall claimed World Matchplay glory in sensational style 12 months ago and the Stockport star will begin his campaign against Woodhouse, one of five debutants in this year’s 32-man field.
“Luke is a fantastic player and has played some fantastic darts this year, that’s why he’s in this tournament.” “It was a great feeling,” Aspinall recalled, shortly after the draw was made on Thursday.
“I’ve played Luke a lot and have a good record against him, so it’s going to be a tough match, but I’m confident I can come out on top.”
This year’s £800,000 prize pool event will take place at Blackpool’s famous Winter Gardens from July 13th to 21st, with the world’s top 16 players seeded in the first round to face off against 16 qualifiers from the year-long Pro Tour Order of Merit.
The featured match in the first round will be between three-time World Matchplay winner Van Gerwen and reigning Premier League champion Littler, who has dominated the sport for the past nine months.
World number three Michael Smith will face off in another intriguing showdown against 2018 champion Gary Anderson, while reigning world champion Luke Humphries, tipped as the pre-tournament favourite by sponsors Betfred at 7/2, will take on German newcomer Riccardo Pietreczko.
2022 World Matchplay finalist Gerwyn Price faces a tough opening match against two-time semi-finalist Daryl Gurney, while 2019 winner Rob Cross takes on Dutch newcomer Jan van Veen.
Last year’s runner-up Jonny Clayton will face five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld in another heavyweight showdown, while Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski will take on seventh seed Dave Chisnall.
2020 World Match Play winner and British Open champion Dimitri van den Bergh will begin his title challenge against already-hitting German number one Martin Schindler in the 2024 season.
2021 World Matchplay winner Peter Wright will face former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding for the second consecutive year, while Australian number one Damon Heta will take on 2023 quarter-finalist Ryan Searle.
James Wade secured a last-minute qualification win to make his 19th consecutive appearance for Blackpool, with the 2007 champion set to face 2022 semi-finalist Danny Noppert.
Masters champion Stephen Bunting will face the returning Ryan Joyce in the opening round, while former European champion Ross Smith and Northern Ireland’s Josh Lock will battle it out for a place in the last 16.
Richie Edhouse will face last year’s quarter-finalist Chris Dobey for the first time on the Winter Garden stage, while Joe Cullen, a semi-finalist 12 months ago, will take on the experienced Brendan Dolan.
Some of the sport’s biggest names will compete over nine days at the Empress Ballroom, with the winner taking home £200,000 in prize money and the coveted Phil Taylor Trophy.
The match schedule will be announced at a later date, with the first round taking place over the first three days from 13th to 15th July.
This year the Winter Gardens will also host the third edition of the Betfred Women’s World Matchplay, with eight players competing on Sunday afternoon, 21 July.
Title sponsors Betfred have made world number one Humphries a 7/2 favourite to win as he seeks his first World Matchplay victory, while teenage sensation Littler is priced at 4/1 on debut.
Price is just 8/1 ahead of Van Gerwen at 9/1 to win his first Winter Gardens title, while Cross and Anderson are 14/1 and 16/1 respectively to repeat their former glory at Blackpool.
2024 Betfred World Matchplay
Lottery Bracket
(1) Luke Humphries vs. Ricardo Pietreczko
(16) Stephen Bunting vs. Ryan Joyce
(8) Jonny Clayton vs. Raymond van Barneveld
(9) Dimitri van den Bergh vs. Martin Schindler
(4) Gerwyn Price vs. Daryl Gurney
(13) Ross Smith vs. Josh Rock
(5) Nathan Aspinall vs. Luke Woodhouse
(12) Danny Noppert vs. James Wade
(2) Michael van Gerwen vs. Luke Littler
(15) Joe Cullen vs. Brendan Dolan
(7) Dave Chisnall vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
(10) Peter Wright v. Andrew Gilding
(3) Michael Smith vs. Gary Anderson
(14) Chris Doby vs. Richie Edhouse
(6) Rob Cross vs. Jan van Veen
(11) Damon Heta vs. Ryan Searle
Betfred Odds
Tournament Winners
7/2 Luke Humphreys
4/1 Luke Littler
8/1 Gerwyn Price
9/1 Michael van Gerwen
14/1 Rob Cross
16/1 Gary Anderson, Michael Smith
25/1 Stephen Bunting
28/1 Chris Doby, Nathan Aspinall
33/1 Josh Locke, Jonny Clayton
40/1 Danny Noppert, Dave Chisnall, Dimitri van den Bergh, Martin Schindler, Ross Smith
50/1 Damon Heta, Ryan Searle
66/1 Peter Wright
80/1 Raymond van Barneveld, Daryl Gurney, James Wade
100/1 Joe Cullen, Jan van Veen
125/1 Luke Woodhouse
150/1 Brendan Dolan, Krzysztof Ratajski, Ryan Joyce, Richie Edhouse
200/1 Andrew Gilding, Riccardo Pietreczko
Odds are accurate at the time of writing and are provided by Betfred.com and are subject to change.