Betfred World Matchplay 2023 | Semi-Finals Preview and Order of Play
The final four face off at the 2023 Betfred World Matchplay in Blackpool on Saturday with a date with destiny on the line.
The remaining quartet have come through a vastly open field to move within touching distance of lifting the Phil Taylor Trophy for the first time.
Prior to this year’s edition, none of the remaining players had made it beyond the Quarter-Final stage of this prestigious event, but have broken new ground at the Winter Gardens and will be desperate to avoid bowing out at the penultimate hurdle.
The opening Semi-Final sees two close friends collide as ninth seed Nathan Aspinall takes on 13th seed Joe Cullen.
Both players know what it takes to go the distance in televised tournaments, with Aspinall having famously won the 2019 UK Open, while Cullen claimed glory at last year’s Masters.
Aspinall had suffered back-to-back Quarter-Final exits at the hands of Michael van Gerwen on this stage but has enjoyed a change of fortunes after producing a trio of battling displays to reach the Last Four.
Twice a major finalist last year, ‘The Asp’ came through tough opener against Krzysztof Ratajski 10-7 before digging deep again to edge out Danny Noppert 11-9 with a second successive 98 average.
He then held off a late fightback from Chris Dobey to close out a 16-12 victory in the Quarter-Finals with ten 180s and a 99.3 average to move into his seventh major televised ranking Semi-Final.
Cullen, last year’s Premier League runner-up, is making his eighth consecutive World Matchplay appearance, and has surpassed his best run from 2018 – when he lost out to eventual champion Gary Anderson in a 36-leg epic.
The world number 13 opened up with a 10-7 victory over Belgian debutant Mike De Decker with an average of 100.7, before pulling off a sensational 13-11 scalp of last year’s runner-up Gerwyn Price in the Last 16 after surviving a match dart along the way.
He then dispatched Daryl Gurney 16-11 with a 97 average to reach his first major ranking Semi-Final since the 2021 European Championship.
Cullen is out to defeat Aspinall for the first time in three attempts this year, having lost out in the UK Open and German Darts Grand Prix.
The second Semi-Final sees world number six Luke Humphries take on world number seven Jonny Clayton in their first televised meeting since the 2021 Players Championship Finals.
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.
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.
The tenacious Welshman then produced a masterclass of finishing to see off Ryan Searle 16-12 on Friday, landing six ton-plus checkouts.
The 48-year-old had never been beyond the Second Round stage in five previous World Matchplay appearances but now has a golden opportunity to become the first Welshman to capture this title.
Humphries, meanwhile, has transferred his notoriously lethal European Tour form onto one of the sport’s most iconic stages, winning through to his third major Semi-Final in the space of eight months.
The five-time Euro Tour event winner lost out at this stage in both the Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals last season and is out to reach his first major final since the 2021 UK Open.
Humphries thrashed Jose De Sousa 10-2 with a 101.8 average in Round One, before surviving a match dart from Dirk van Duijvenbode in an epic tie break to prevail 14-12.
He followed that up with a 16-13 triumph over Aussie ace Damon Heta on Friday in a topsy-turvy encounter which featured a staggering 20 breaks of throw.
The action gets under way from 8pm BST, with Semi-Final matches to be contested over the best of 33 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 16-16 then the 39th leg will be the sudden death decider.
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World Matchplay 2023 Semi-Finals Schedule
Saturday July 22
8pm-11pm
Nathan Aspinall v Joe Cullen
Jonny Clayton v Luke Humphries
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