Luke Littler is due to make his Betfred World Match Play debut later this month, while 2007 champion James Wade qualified at the last minute on Wednesday.
Following the conclusion of Players Championship 14 in Milton Keynes, the 32-player field for the sport’s summer extravaganza was confirmed, with Wade qualifying in 16th place via the Pro Tour Order of Merit.
This year’s World Matchplay will see stars compete for the Phil Taylor Trophy at the Winter Gardens from 13-21 July and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and the PDC’s global broadcast partners.
The PDC’s Top 16 will be joined by 16 qualifiers chosen from the year’s Pro Tour Order of Merit in Blackpool, offering nine days of fierce competition amongst the sport’s biggest names.
World champion Luke Humphreys is the top seed in the £800,000 prize event after his incredible form over the past 12 months, with three-time World Matchplay winner Michael van Gerwen seeded second.
2023 world champion Michael Smith and 2022 World Match Play runner-up Gerwyn Price will be third and fourth respectively, while reigning champion Nathan Aspinall will return to the Winter Gardens as the fifth seed.
Former champions Rob Cross (6th), Dimitri van den Bergh (9th) and Peter Wright (10th) are also among the seeded players, along with 2023 runner-up Jonny Clayton.
Gary Anderson, the 2018 World Match Play champion, sits atop the 16 Pro Tour money qualifiers, based on prize money won in European Tour events and The Players Championship over the past year.
Premier League champion Little will make his long-awaited Blackpool debut after winning three PDC ranking titles in 2024, while Josh Lock, Ryan Searle and German number one Martin Schindler will return to the Empress Ballroom.
World Youth Championship runner-up Jan van Veen is one of five athletes set to compete for the first time, with Little, Riccardo Pietreczko, Richie Edhouse and Luke Woodhouse also qualifying for the first time.
Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld, a 2010 finalist, will play in the World Matchplay for a 14th time in 2024, while Wade beat Kevin Dorts in this week’s Pro Tour double-header to book his place in Blackpool for the 19th consecutive year.
Dutch youngster Dorts missed out along with compatriot Dirk van Duivenbode, while Cameron Menzies and Gabriel Clemens gave Wade some tense moments at Players Championship 14 on Wednesday and failed in their bid to qualify.
The draw for the Betfred World Match Play, which features the PDC Top 16 and the first round of Pro Tour Order of Merit Qualifiers, will take place on Thursday 4 July and can be viewed across Betfred’s social media channels.
The Betfred World Matchplay will run from 13th to 21st July, while the afternoon session on the final day in Blackpool, Sunday 21st July, will also see the Betfred Women’s World Matchplay, with eight players competing in the third tournament.
2024 Betfred World Matchplay
PDC Merit Ranking Top 16
(First round seeding)
1. Luke Humphreys
2. Michael van Gerwen
3. Michael Smith
4. Gerwyn Price
5. Nathan Aspinall
6. Rob Cross
7. Dave Chisnall
8. Johnny Clayton
9. Dimitri van den Bergh
10. Peter Wright
11. Damon Heta
12. Danny Noppert
13. Ross Smith
14. Chris Doby
15. Joe Cullen
16. Stephen Bunting
Pro Tour Qualifiers
Gary Anderson
Josh Rock
Ryan Searle
Martin Schindler
Jan van Veen
Luke Littler
Ricardo Pietreczko
Daryl Gurney
Ryan Joyce
Raymond van Barneveld
Brendan Dolan
Richie Edhouse
Christoph Ratajski
Luke Woodhouse
Andrew Gilding
James Wade