Stan James World Matchplay
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The Stan James World Matchplay is a darts tournament, played in a legs format, and is run by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The tournament has been sponsored by gambling company, Stan James since 2000.
The World Matchplay has been played yearly since 1994 at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The first ever winner was Larry Butler, who beat Dennis Priestley 16-12, and the current holder is Phil Taylor. It is regarded as the second biggest PDC Tournament, status shown by the fact the whole tournament was sold out within 3 days of the tickets being on sale.
The difference between this and other darts tournaments is that there is no deciding leg - players must win by two clear legs. The first round is usually played over the first to 10 legs, but if the score reaches 9-9, play continues until either player gains a 2 leg lead.
[edit] Sponsors
There have been three different sponsors for the World Matchplay.
1994 Proton Cars
1995 - 96 Websters
2000 - present Stan James
[edit] Past Winners
Over the course of the tournaments 13 year existence, there have only been 5 different winners- Phil Taylor (8), Larry Butler (1), Peter Evison (1), Rod Harrington (2) and Colin Lloyd (1). Dennis Priestley was also runner-up for 3 consecutive years.
| Year | Winner (average in final) | Score | Runner-Up (average in final) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 |  Larry Butler |
16-12 |  Dennis Priestley |
| 1995 | Phil Taylor |
16-11 | Dennis Priestley |
| 1996 | Peter Evison |
16-14 | Dennis Priestley |
| 1997 | Phil Taylor |
16-11 | Alan Warriner |
| 1998 | Rod Harrington |
19-17 | Ronnie Baxter |
| 1999 | Rod Harrington (85.95) |
19-17 | Peter Manley (86.91) |
| 2000 | Phil Taylor |
18-12 | Alan Warriner |
| 2001 | Phil Taylor |
18-10 |  Richie Burnett |
| 2002 | Phil Taylor |
18-16 |  John Part |
| 2003 | Phil Taylor (94.38) |
18-12 | Wayne Mardle (97.44) |
| 2004 | Phil Taylor (100.20) |
18-8 | Mark Dudbridge (89.24) |
| 2005 | Colin Lloyd |
18-12 | John Part |
| 2006 | Phil Taylor (100.08) |
18-11 | James Wade (90.01) |
In 2006, the Prize Fund was raised by 25%, and will now be £150,000 to be split between the players, with the winner getting the biggest cut, of £30,000.
[edit] Trivia
- With the format of "2 clear legs", matches often go beyond their schedule - including both the 1998 and 1999 finals which went to 36 legs - the longest matches in tournament history.
- The longest first round match ever played was the 2002 clash between Peter Manley and Bob Anderson. Scheduled to be first to 10 legs, the match went to 32 legs with Anderson winning 17 - 15.
- The 1995 World Matchplay turned out to be Jocky Wilson's last appearance in a major televised event. Wilson had reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural tournament in 1994 and he beat Rod Harrington in the 1st round in 1995, but a 2nd round defeat against Nigel Justice was effectively the end of his career.
- Stan James are the longest running sponsors of a PDC darts tournament, having supported the Matchplay event since 2000.
- Phil Taylor has dominated the event, and has only lost 5 matches in the history of the tournament.
1994 Bob Anderson 9-11 (sudden death, 2nd Round)
1996 Peter Evison 1-8 (2nd Round)
1998 Ronnie Baxter 10-13 (Quarter Finals)
1999 Peter Manley 14-17 (Semi Finals)
2005 Phil Taylor 11-16 (Quarter Finals) - ended a run of 28 consecutive match wins at Blackpool.
| Major PDC Darts Tournaments |
|---|
| PDC World Championship |
| see main article PDC World Darts Championship |
| World Matchplay Championship |
| 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| World Grand Prix |
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Las Vegas Desert Classic |
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| UK Open |
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Premier League |
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
