The 32 players heading to the World Matchplay have been confirmed following the double header in Leicester. Those hopeful of a spot or bidding to keep their place in the qualification spots would have seen their spirits buoyed when Ryan Searle and Gerwyn Price were not present in the draw at the start of the day.
It was clear there was a level of tension at the beginning of the day, with Dave Chisnall scraping over the line 6-4 against Greg Ritchie with a sub-80 average. This win ended Daryl Gurney’s bid for Matchplay qualification after he was beaten by Madars Razma.
Chizzy was knocked out at the hands of Scott Williams in the second round meaning he was relying on Sebastian Bialecki to falter – The Polish thrower would have needed to win the day in order to pip Chisnall, but eventually lost out to Brendan Dolan. Chisnall will therefor make a 16th appearance in a row at the Matchplay after he made up the final spot in the field.
Damon Heta was a first round winner against Tyler Thorpe, initially moving the Aussie into the provisional spots but Chizzy’s second round loss meant that his spot in Blackpool was confirmed before he threw another dart. Heta will make a sixth appearance at the Matchplay.
Meanwhile was heartbreak for Kim Huybrechts who suffered defeat in a last-leg decider at the hands of Jeffrey Sparidaans, meaning the Belgian no.3 will not be making a return to the Winter Gardens later this month.
Next up in the PDC is a trip to Leverkusen as the European Tour rolls into Western Germany, with tour card holder qualifiers for the back end of the year’s ET12 and ET13 events taking place at the Mattioli tomorrow. A trip to Leverkusen will provide some welcome stage / match practice before the Matchplay, especially for those wanting to kick start their bid for a first Major tournament win.
CONFIRMED WORLD MATCHPLAY FIELD:
Main OoM
Luke littler Luke Humphries Gian van Veen Michael van Gerwen Jonny Clayton James Wade Gerwyn Price Josh Rock Stephen Bunting Danny Noppert Ryan Searle Gary Anderson Chris Dobey Wessel Nijman Ross Smith Nathan Aspinall
Pro Tour OoM:
Luke Woodhouse Jermaine Wattimena Kevin Doets Andrew Gilding Rob Cross Krzysztof Ratajski William O’Connor Niko Springer Niels Zonneveld Martin Schindler Ryan Joyce Dirk van Duijvenbode Cameron Menzies Joe Cullen Damon Heta Dave Chisnall.
Images: PDC
