Dates 16–24 July Location Blackpool Organisation(s) PDC | Venue Winter Gardens Country England Format Legs | |
The 2011 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. 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.
Contents
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.
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 2012 Premier League nights. 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.
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.
Draw
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
Statistics
Broadcasters
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the tournament was broadcast by Sky Sports for the 18th consecutive time.
In the Netherlands, RTL7 broadcased 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.