World Seniors Matchplay 2023 | Day Two Preview and Order of Play
The 2023 World Seniors Matchplay draws to a close in York on Sunday as the final eight face off for the right to be crowned champion.
A new name is guaranteed on this trophy following the early exit of defending champion Robert Thornton, and all eight remaining hopefuls will feel they have what it takes to scoop the £10,000 top prize at The Barbican.
An eventful opening day saw three matches decided in a tie break, with a clutch of decorated darters bowing out at the first hurdle.
Sunday’s afternoon session plays host to the Quarter-Final ties, before the Semi-Finals and final take centre stage in the evening.
Kicking off the day’s action is a show-down between reigning WDF World Champion Neil Duff and three-time World Seniors finalist Richie Howson.
Duff produced one of the stand-out displays of Day One as he dethroned defending champion Thornton 8-5 with a 92 average to avenge his defeat to the Scot in February’s World Seniors Championship.
The Northern Irishman now aims to subject seniors specialist Howson to a rare early exit, with ‘The Owl’ having finished runner-up in all three televised events this year.
Howson enjoyed a comfortable 8-3 win over ten-time Women’s World Champion Trina Gulliver in his opener and is out to finally stop the rot and claim a historic first televised title.
All eyes remain on 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor as he continues his quest for maiden seniors glory with a clash against qualifier Paul Hogan.
Taylor, runner-up in this event last year, has suffered Quarter-Final exits at the Circus Tavern, Champion of Champions and Masters this term and will be determined to avoid falling at this hurdle once again.
The Power came through a gruelling opener in a tie break against John Part on Saturday night, digging deep to deny his old rival 9-7 with an average if 80.6.
Hogan, meanwhile, produced the stand-out performance of the round, averaging 95 in an 8-6 win over 2015 BDO World Champion Scott Mitchell.
The three-time BDO World Championship quarter-finalist was averaging around 108 for much of that contest and will be keen to replicate that scoring power against a struggling Taylor when the pair meet on a televised stage for the first time.
Former Players Champion Kevin Painter comes up against dangerous debutant Jim McEwan in another closely-matched contest.
Painter suffered a second successive Semi-Final defeat to Thornton in the World Seniors Championship this year and was also a semi-finalist in this event last July – losing out to his nemesis Taylor.
He began with a routine 8-1 thrashing of Deta Hedman on Saturday but will be poised for a much tougher test against the methodical Scot.
McEwan reached the Quarter-Finals of last year’s WDF World Championship, losing out to eventual champion Duff in a last-set epic, and ended his long wait for a televised seniors debut by coming through a qualifying event in July.
He reeled off four consecutive legs from 7-5 down to deny a spirited Glen Durrant in a tie break on Saturday night, later revealed he had considered retiring from the sport earlier this year.
The final match of the afternoon features a North American show-down between man of the moment Leonard Gates and David Cameron.
Gates, who secured the Champion of Champions title in March before adding the World Seniors Masters crown in June, is targeting a hat-trick of silverware this season.
The American star kick-started his quest with a hard-fought 9-7 win over Colin McGarry on Saturday afternoon and now faces his fellow CDC representative.
Canada’s Cameron also knows what it takes to go the distance in a televised seniors event, having triumphed at Lakeside last year, and made an immediate statement of intent by knocking out pre-tournament favourite John Henderson 8-4 in Round One.
The action gets under way from 1pm BST, with Quarter-Final matches to be contested over the best of 15 legs, while Semi-Finals and the final are the best of 17.
Matches will be extended for a maximum of six extra legs if necessary before a sudden death leg is required.
WATCH THE WORLD SENIORS MATCHPLAY STREAMED LIVE HERE
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World Seniors Matchplay 2023 Day Two Schedule
Sunday September 3
Quarter-Finals
1pm-5pm
Neil Duff v Richie Howson
Kevin Painter v Jim McEwan
Leonard Gates v David Cameron
Phil Taylor v Paul Hogan
7pm-10.30pm
Semi-Finals
Duff/Howson v Painter/McEwan
Gates/Cameron v Taylor/Hogan
Final
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