Betfred World Matchplay 2023 | Day Seven Preview and Order of Play
The two remaining Semi-Final spots are up for grabs at the 2023 World Matchplay in Blackpool on Friday.
Joe Cullen and Nathan Aspinall each booked their place in the Last Four of this event for the first time on Thursday night after battling past Daryl Gurney and Chris Dobey respectively.
A new name is guaranteed on the Phil Taylor Trophy come Sunday night in what continues to be the most open staging in the tournament’s 30-year history.
Matches from the bottom half of the draw take centre stage on Day Seven, kicking off with a tie between world number seventh Jonny Clayton and 15th seed Ryan Searle.
Both players have produced inspired displays to progress to this stage of the competition for the first time and now go head-to-head for the first time in a televised major.
An emotional Clayton, whose father has been taken ill, dug deep to fend off a late rally from German number one Gabriel Clemens in his opener, before averaging 101.9 in a magnificent 11-6 victory over 2020 champion Dimitri van den Bergh.
World Cup of Darts winner for the second time last month, Clayton’s only major televised ranking title to date came at the 2021 World Grand Prix, having picked up a further three televised invitational trophies.
Searle registered his first win in this event in sensational style by thrashing five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld 10-4 with a 105.2 average, before seeing off another multiple World Champion – Peter Wright – 11-8 in the Second Round.
Searle’s only appearance in a PDC major final to date ended in an agonising 11-10 defeat to Wright at the 2021 Players Championship Finals, and ‘Heavy Metal’ will be determined to open his account in remarkable fashion this weekend.
Rounding off the Quarter-Final action is a show-down between title favourite Luke Humphries and 14th seed Damon Heta.
Humphries is through to his first World Matchplay Quarter-Final at the third time of asking, having thrashed Jose De Sousa 10-2 with a 101.8 average, before surviving a match dart from Dirk van Duijvenbode in an epic tie break to prevail 14-12 on Wednesday.
The five-time European Tour event winner is vying to reach a third major Semi-Final in the space of eight months, having lost out at that stage in both the Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals last season.
Heta, meanwhile, has enjoyed a serene passage into his fourth major ranking Quarter-Final, dropping just six legs along the way.
The former World Cup of Darts and Brisbane Masters winner brushed aside Josh Rock 10-5 in his opener, before demolishing a struggling Brendan Dolan 11-1 with a 95.7 average.
The passionate Aussie has become renowned for his cricket-themed walk-ons this week and faces an ‘Ashes’ battle with the man who has beaten him in two Euro Tour Semi-Finals this year.
The action gets under way from 8pm BST, with Quarter-Final matches to be contested over the best of 31 legs.
All matches must be won by two clear legs, with a match being extended if necessary for a maximum of six extra legs before a sudden death leg is required. For example, in a Quarter-Final match, if the score reaches 15-15 then the 37th leg will be the sudden death decider.
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World Matchplay 2023 Day Seven Schedule
Friday July 21
Quarter-Finals
8.15pm Ryan Searle v Jonny Clayton
9.45pm Luke Humphries v Damon Heta
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