The 2011 Skybet World Matchplay was the 18th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place from 16–24 July 2011. It was sponsored by Skybet (who had previously sponsored the UK Open and the World Grand Prix) who took over from Stan James after 10 years.
Phil Taylor successfully defended his title, defeating James Wade 18–8 in the final to win his twelfth World Matchplay crown and his fourth in successive years.
In the quarter-final, Andy Hamilton produced a remarkable comeback. Trailing 8–15 to Simon Whitlock and only one leg from defeat, Hamilton won nine consecutive legs to advance to the semi-finals.
John Part recorded his first and only televised nine-dart finish, and the third in Matchplay history, in his first-round defeat to Mark Webster.
The 2011 World Matchplay is notable for being the last darts tournament on Sky Sports where long-time commentator, Sid Waddell, commentated full-time. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2011, underwent treatment, and made a brief return to the commentary box during the 2012 Premier League Darts. Waddell died from the bowel cancer on the 11 August 2012, the day after his 72nd birthday.
Prize money For the third consecutive World Matchplay, the prize fund was £400,000.
Position (no. of players) Prize money(Total: £400,000)Winner (1) £100,000Runner-Up (1) £50,000Semi-finalists (2) £25,000Quarter-finalists (4) £15,000Second round (8) £7,500First round (16) £5,000Nine-dart finish (1) £10,000
Qualification The top 16 in the PDC Order of Merit qualified automatically and were also seeded players. The other 16 places went to the top 16 non-qualified players from the Players Championships Order of Merit.
These were the participants:
PDC Top 16 Phil Taylor (winner) Adrian Lewis (semi-finals) James Wade (runner-up) Gary Anderson (first round) Simon Whitlock (quarter-finals) Raymond van Barneveld (quarter-finals) Terry Jenkins (first round) Wes Newton (quarter-finals) Mervyn King (first round) Mark Webster (quarter-finals) Paul Nicholson (second round) Ronnie Baxter (first round) Colin Lloyd (first round) Mark Walsh (second round) Vincent van der Voort (second round) Wayne Jones (second round)
PDPA Players Championship qualifiers John Part (first round) Andy Smith (first round) Jamie Caven (first round) Justin Pipe (second round) Dave Chisnall (first round) Peter Wright (first round) Alan Tabern (first round) Mark Hylton (first round) Steve Brown (first round) Denis Ovens (second round) John Henderson (second round) Kevin Painter (first round) Scott Rand (first round) Colin Osborne (first round) Steve Beaton (second round) Andy Hamilton (semi-finals)
Draw
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
Statistics Player Eliminated Played Legs Won Legs Lost LWAT 100+ 140+ 180s High checkout 3-dart average Phil TaylorWinner57437301648022150105.49 Adrian LewisSemi-finals4534619118662817096.16 James WadeFinal5645023162912317094.83 Gary AndersonFirst round161012771010498.04 Raymond van Barneveld Quarter-finals334281379481612695.46 Simon Whitlock Quarter-finals338251266481515495.66 Terry Jenkins First round13102176311890.06 Wes Newton Quarter-finals328261262431217095.33 Mervyn KingFirst round161031710112084.33 Mark Webster Quarter-finals33531139636715891.56 Paul Nicholson Second round22123855241216494.12 Ronnie BaxterFirst round181031710314684.88 Colin LloydFirst round17103258312884.92 Mark WalshSecond round22116546221212194.92 Vincent van der VoortSecond round215206442169089.72 Wayne JonesSecond round2171964332916194.36 John Part* First round18103278514190.75 Andy Smith First round12100205112184.12 Jamie Caven First round101001241 —82.00 Justin Pipe Second round2181984628911694.84 Dave ChisnallFirst round13101149512193.73 Peter WrightFirst round17102278612392.28 Alan Tabern First round1710431938187.38 Mark Hylton First round181021815711999.57 Steve Brown First round13100188412191.02 Denis Ovens Second round2112144520513287.82 John Henderson Second round22120746301112088.61 Kevin Painter First round1121453915510292.91 Scott Rand First round16102171036988.99 Colin Osborne First round1101232911512695.86 Steve Beaton Second round2171684924314095.68 Andy Hamilton Semi-finals4494913111602514795.58
Broadcasters In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the tournament was broadcast by Sky Sports for the 18th consecutive time. In the Netherlands, RTL7 broadcast the tournament for the very first time through an internet livestream, and in highlights on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on television. The tournament was broadcast in Australia for the first time with Fox Sports.
References