The 2018 European Darts Matchplay was the ninth of thirteen PDC European Tour events on the 2018 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at the Edel-optics.de Arena, Hamburg, Germany from 29 June–1 July 2018. It featured a field of 48 players and £135,000 in prize money, with £25,000 going to the winner.
| 2018 European Darts Matchplay | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 29 June–1 July 2018 | ||
| Venue | Edel-optics.de Arena | ||
| Location | Hamburg | ||
| Country |  Germany | ||
| Organisation(s) | PDC | ||
| Format | Legs | ||
| Prize fund | £135,000 | ||
| Winner's share | £25,000 | ||
| Nine-dart finish |  Michael van Gerwen (second round) | ||
| High checkout | 160 Vincent van der Voort  Kim Huybrechts | ||
| Champion(s) | |||
| Michael van Gerwen | |||
| |||
Michael van Gerwen was the defending champion after defeating Mensur Suljović 6–3 in the previous year's final, and he retained his title by defeating William O'Connor 8–2 in the final.
Van Gerwen also threw the first European Tour nine-dart finish in over 5 years against Ryan Joyce in the second round.
Prize money
editThis is how the prize money is divided:
| Stage (num. of players) | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £25,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £10,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £6,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £4,000 |
| Third round losers | (8) | £3,000 |
| Second round losers | (16) | £2,000 |
| First round losers | (16) | £1,000 |
| Total | £135,000 | |
Prize money will count towards the PDC Order of Merit, the ProTour Order of Merit and the European Tour Order of Merit, with one exception: should a seeded player lose in the second round (last 32), their prize money will not count towards any Orders of Merit, although they still receive the full prize money payment.[1][2]
Qualification and format
editThe top 16 entrants from the PDC ProTour Order of Merit on 8 June will automatically qualify for the event and will be seeded in the second round.
The remaining 32 places will go to players from five qualifying events – 16 from the UK Qualifier (held in Wigan on 15 June), 8 from the West/South European Qualifier (held on 28 June), 6 from the Host Nation Qualifier (held on 28 June), 1 from the Nordic & Baltic Qualifier (held on 25 May) and 1 from the East European Qualifier (held on 25 February).
Peter Wright, who would have been the number 2 seed, withdrew from the tournament prior to the draw. James Wilson, the highest-ranked qualifier, was promoted to 16th seed. Jim Brown also withdrew prior to the draw. Two extra places were made available in the Host Nation Qualifier.[3]
The following players will take part in the tournament:
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Draw
editReferences
edit- ^ "European Tour 2018 Info". PDPA. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "European Tour Rule Changes Announced". PDC. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ a b Allen, Dave. "2018 European Darts Matchplay Schedule". PDC. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Allen, Dave. "Entries Confirmed For Hamburg & Hildesheim". PDC. Retrieved 8 June 2018.