Gaga at World Matchplay 2023
The German Giant, Gabriel Clemens, joins the most important darts tournament after the PDC World Championship for the fourth time
From Saturday 15 July to Sunday 23 July 2023, the 30th World Matchplay from the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is taking place at the legendary Winter Gardens in Blackpool, UK. This major darts tournament has been held in this entertainment complex, a listed building, since 1994 with a single break in 2020 due to the pandemic. Thanks to its long tradition and high prize money, this darts summer highlight is the most important darts tournament after the PDC World Darts Championship in Ally Pally at the turn of the year.
Players are competing for the Phil Taylor Trophy, named after 16-time world champion and tournament record holder with 16 wins in 25 tournaments. When he retired in early 2018, the PDC honoured this exceptional player by naming the cup after him.
One particular feature of World Matchplay is its method of play, with legs used rather than sets, and the winner needing to win by two legs. In the first round, this means winning ten legs (best of 19 legs). The number of legs increases with every round, right through to the final which then requires 18 legs to be won (best of 35 legs). The number of extra legs is limited to five, in order to stop the game getting too long in the event of a tie. If reached, the fifth extra leg will then decide the match.
The participants in World Matchplay 2023 are the top 16 players in the current world rankings (Order of Merit) and the top 16 players on the current Pro Tour Order of Merit. As number 20 in the current world rankings (as of 11/07/2023), Gabriel Clemens qualified via the Pro Tour Order of Merit.
German Giant zum vierten Mal dabei
Gabriel Clemens first appeared at the World Matchplay 2020 and this will be his fourth appearance in a row. In his debut, he defeated reigning champion Rob Cross during the first round but then lost to Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round. During the subsequent competitions in 2021 and 2022, the darts giant from Saarland was defeated in round 1 by Portuguese player José de Sousa for an early trip home.
This year will be another difficult task for the German darts number one. In the last game of the first round, at the end of the session on Monday evening (17 July 2023) from around 11 p.m., the German Giant will be facing Welshman Jonny Clayton. On paper, Clemens is the outsider in this matchup against ‘The Ferret’, the world number seven. A win would see a second-round match against Dimitri van den Bergh or Ross Smith for the Saarland native.
Wir wünschen Gabriel Clemens viel Glück und Erfolg beim World Matchplay 2023 in Blackpool und einen langen Verbleib im Turnier.