2017 World Matchplay
The 2017 BetVictor World Matchplay was a professional darts tournament that took place at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, from 22–30 July 2017. It was the twenty-fourth annual staging of the World Matchplay to be organised by the Professional Darts Corporation.
Michael van Gerwen was the defending champion but lost to Phil Taylor 16–6 in the quarter-finals, Taylor beat Peter Wright 18–8 in the final to claim his 16th World Matchplay title. It was Taylor's final appearance in the tournament and his last major tournament win.
Prize money
The prize fund increased from £450,000 to £500,000, with the winner's earnings increasing from £100,000 to £115,000.Format
In previous stagings of the event all games had to be won by two clear legs with no sudden-death legs. However, in 2013 after consulting the host broadcaster Sky Sports, the PDC decided that games will now only proceed for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie-break leg is required. For example, in a best of 19 legs first round match, if the score reaches 12–12 then the 25th leg will be the decider.Qualification
The top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit as of July 10, 2017 were seeded for the tournament. The top 16 players on the ProTour Order of Merit not to have already qualified will be unseeded.The following players qualified for the tournament:
PDC Order of Merit Top 16
- Michael van Gerwen '
- Gary Anderson '
- Peter Wright '
- Adrian Lewis '
- Dave Chisnall '
- James Wade '
- Mensur Suljović '
- Phil Taylor
- Raymond van Barneveld '
- Jelle Klaasen '
- Michael Smith '
- Kim Huybrechts '
- Ian White '
- Robert Thornton '
- Benito van de Pas '
- Simon Whitlock ''''
PDC ProTour qualifiers
- Daryl Gurney '
- Alan Norris '
- Joe Cullen '
- Rob Cross '
- Mervyn King '
- Gerwyn Price '
- Cristo Reyes '
- Stephen Bunting '
- Darren Webster '
- Steve Beaton '
- James Wilson '
- Steve West '
- Kyle Anderson '
- John Henderson '
- Christian Kist
- Justin Pipe ''''
Draw