Gerwyn Price produced a resilient comeback to see off Martin Schindler 11-9 and record his sixth consecutive round one win at the Betfred World Matchplay on Monday in Blackpool.
Despite the German number one leading 4-0 and then 6-2, Price battled back to lead 9-8, only for Schindler to deliver a clutch 121 checkout to take the match to a tie-break.
Nevertheless, the former World Champion immediately broke throw to lead 10-9, before pinning a 100 checkout to squeeze through and condemn Schindler to a fifth consecutive defeat at the World Matchplay.
“Without the crowd, I would have lost today,” confessed Price, who came back from 6-2 down to win nine of the last 12 legs.
“It was probably the worst I’ve played all season. It was a tough one for me, I’m low on confidence at the minute just because I haven’t played a lot.
“That’s probably one of those game I should have lost, but I’ve won and I’m still in the tournament. I’ll put some hours on the board tomorrow.
“I’ll definitely be better the next round, I can’t be any worse!”
Price will face Rob Cross in round two, after the former World Matchplay champion dispatched Danny Noppert 10-3 with relative ease.
The 2017/18 World Champion bulldozed into a 5-0 lead and maintained the Dutchman at an arm’s length throughout, finishing the match with an average north of 97 and 53% strike rate on the doubles.
Round two of the Betfred World Matchplay commences with a blockbuster session on Tuesday evening, with reigning champion Luke Littler looking to continue his title defence against Nathan Aspinall, while Michael van Gerwen takes on fellow Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Jonny Clayton faces Gary Anderson in a fascinating tussle, while Premier League stars Stephen Bunting and Josh Rock collide in the final match of the evening.
The Betfred World Matchplay is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK & Ireland, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN, CANAL+ and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2026 Betfred World Matchplay
Monday July 20
Round One x4
Ross Smith 10-6 Kevin Doets
Gerwyn Price 11-9 Martin Schindler
Cameron Menzies 10-7 Luke Humphries
Rob Cross 10-3 Danny Noppert
Tuesday July 21 (1900 BST)
Round Two x4
Jonny Clayton v Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall
Josh Rock v Stephen Bunting
Best of 21 legs
Wednesday July 22 (1900 BST)
Round Two x4
Cameron Menzies v Ross Smith
Gian van Veen v Wessel Nijman
Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
James Wade v Ryan Searle
Best of 21 legs
ENDS
Images: Taylor Lanning / PDC
