First results from Sunday’s World Matchplay
Ross Smith 10 – 4 Josh Lock
Smith fired in a 160 finish to take the penultimate leg.
In the final game, he scored 120 points with three darts.
A welcome early win for England fans!
Today’s World Matchplay Timetable
2024 Betfred World Matchplay
Afternoon Session (1200 BST)
First round x4
Ross Smith vs Josh Rock
Danny Noppert vs James Wade
Dimitri van den Bergh vs Martin Schindler
Stephen Bunting vs Ryan Joyce
Evening Session (16:30 BST)
First round x4
Rob Cross vs Jan van Veen
Joe Cullen vs Brendan Dolan
Peter Wright vs Andrew Gilding
Dave Chisnall vs Krzysztof Ratajski
The move comes after England faced Spain in the UEFA Euro 2024 final.
Luke Littler reprimanded for provoking Michael van Gerwen
Phil Taylor has issued a warning to Luke Littler after advising him to stop taunting Michael van Gerwen ahead of their World Matchplay clash.
Luke The Nook will be taking on Clog Almighty in an exciting first round match at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens on Monday.
Taylor predicts world number one Luke Humphries will win the Phil Taylor Trophy next weekend “because he’s won every other title.”
Littler made a bold post on social media, listing all the venues where he has beaten Van Gerwen, adding a tick mark emoji after each one.
Price slams Littler
Luke Littler has been slammed by darts rival Gerwyn Price, who has labelled the teenage sensation’s recent performances as “rubbish”.
“I think everyone’s paying attention to Luke Littler at the moment because he’s not doing much,” Price told Online Darts.
“So, he was a dud on the Pro Tour this weekend.
“Maybe he’s a bit like Dimi [Dimitri Van den Bergh] Kevin Painter is a stage actor.
“He’s definitely going to be a big player in match play.
“But Michael [van Gerwen] – What a great first round match.
“It will be a tough match for both of them, but I think Michael will put in a fight. Who knows who will win?”
Full Schedule
The schedule for the first round looks like this:
Saturday has sunk, now it’s time to welcome Sunday.
Humphreys supporting England
Luke Humphreys will have Sunday off to watch England take on Spain in the Euros final.
That means Cool Hanf Luke will be watching all the action.
But he’s careful not to get too excited.
He said: “I’ll try and have fun, but this is England…”