Thursday, July 24, 2025
Column CM146
World Matchplay 2025 – Second Round
At the start of the second round, seven unseeded and nine seeded players were still in the tournament – and on the first of the two nights there were three matches between a seeded and an unseeded player and one match between two seeds.
On the second night, we could see two matches between an unseeded and a seeded player, one between two unseeded players and one between two seeds.
One couldn’t really see a difference in the quality of the performances… but my impression was that the nights were completely different – and the second night, the one with the matches from the second half of the draw, felt for me much more thrilling.
The first second round night was influenced by all sorts of double trouble and it might be due to this that it felt slower and, all in all, not so good – with the exception of James Wade who was as flawless in his second match as in his first and was the only player of the night with an average of over 100.
All others couldn’t keep up the good performances of their first matches, though Wade’s opponent Wessel Nijman at least was clinical on his doubles.
In the first match of the night the two members of the Dutch World Cup team, Gian van Veen and Danny Noppert, clashed – to be sure not an easy match for either and they looked a little bit tied up in knots. Surprisingly, it was the much more experienced Noppert who had the biggest problems (not only with his doubles. van Veen took his chances and won 11-5.
The second match was the already above-mentioned match between Wade and Nijman, in which Nijman was far less strong than in his first match and had no chance at all against Wade.
After that, the match between Stephen Bunting and Gary Anderson which didn’t meet my expectations though it went into overtime. Neither player played really well – Bunting averaged 92.81 and Anderson (who at one point in the match was down to 87) averaged 91.70. And that was despite eight maxims from Bunting (who almost hit a nine-darter) and seven from Anderson.
Anderson started quite well but even before the first break his double trouble began, and Bunting started to control the match – though he never really got rid of Anderson. Anderson managed to draw 10-10 after Bunting missed with a match dart, but then the Scott’s double trouble continued, and Bunting took advantage to win.
The last match of the night was also a slow affair though Clayton from the start was better than his opponent, Mike de Decker, who only had a few brilliant moments. Clayton won 11-8 but it was a hard-worked victory, and one could see and feel both players were struggling.
The second night of the second round was far from slow, and we saw another player who outshined all the others.
In the first match, Andrew Gilding and Dirk van Duijvenbode met – the two non-seeded players – and it was rather surprising how Gilding dominated the match from the start. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Gilding so commanding – in the first five legs he steam rolled his opponent. van Duijvenbode improved a little bit during the match, but he was just not strong enough to endanger Gilding at any point. Gilding won 11-5.
In the second match, it was Gerwyn Price who demolished his opponent Chris Dobey 11-3, though he ran a little bit out of steam near the end. Price played outstanding and was not to be stopped. Dobey was never really in the match – but Price’s average of almost 109 and a hit rate on the doubles over 70 percent probably would have been too much for most any player to crack.
The last two second round matches were quite similar…
The first match was dominated at the start completely by Jermaine Wattimena, while Luke Littler – who to be sure went into the match as the favourite – busted his score in the first leg and after that started to miss doubles. When Wattimena was ahead 7-2 one felt Littler started to get a foothold in the match – he managed to draw and for the first time got the lead. Wattimena didn’t give in and forced the overtime, in which both players had some double trouble, but it was Littler who won 13-11.
In the last second round match it was Michael van Gerwen who started stronger and got the lead. But he had a lot of problems finding his doubles and let Josh Rock back into the match. Rock took his chances and improved. Finally, he drew 9-9 and then was 10-9 ahead. van Gerwen drew 10-10 – and the match went into overtime. van Gerwen seemed to feel the pressure more and missed more doubles than Rock – who mistakes as well but with his first match dart hit for a 13-11 win.
So, we will see three unseeded and five seeded players in the quarterfinals on stage.
From the many Dutch players who impressed with their first round wins only Gian van Veen – who eliminated reigning champion Luke Humphries – is still in the tournament and he is the only player among the last eight not from the UK. Beside him, one player from Northern Ireland, two from Wales and four Englishmen are still in the tournament. Only two of the eight players, Wade and Gilding, were among the last eight. Last year they were also in different halves of the draw.
Bottom line – I really look forward to the quarterfinals now, though I still have no idea who will win the event.
The second round was more or less without upsets – well, one can of course argue whether van Gerwen’s elimination was an upset or not. Looking at his performances recently, which were overshadowed by personal problems, I would say it was not a surprise. It was more surprising how well he played both in his first and in his second round matches.
