The Form Guide: 2022 World Matchplay special

Dirk van Duijvenbode on the 2022 European Tour

PDC Stats Analyst Christopher Kempf lists the Betfred World Matchplay field by their last 100 legs played...

World Matchplay Form Guide

#1 Averages - ROB CROSS
#1 OChE - DIRK VAN DUIJVENBODE
#1 Doubles - MARTIN LUKEMAN
#1 171-180 - DAMON HETA
#1 99, 101+ Checkout - PETER WRIGHT

The World Matchplay is anyone's game, as evinced by the fact that five different players are leading the five different statistical categories tracked over the past 200 legs for each player. And within each category, there is a logjam of players inches behind the nominal leader.

Rob Cross, for instance, holds the lead in averages by just 0.04 points; nearly 40 players have recorded an average over the past 200 legs that is within 5 points of Cross' 98.07.

Dirk van Duijvenbode is arguably the favourite for the Matchplay title at the moment: his OChE rating suggests that he would win 63% of his legs against ProTour opponents, and he proved his ability to make good that theoretical percentage by winning a Players Championship title on the first day of the weekend.

With 85 180s in 200 legs and the sixth-highest doubles accuracy of any tour card holder, the stars seem to be aligning for the 'Aubergenius' to become the next Dutch player to break through with a televised title.

Arising from out of nowhere into World Matchplay contention is Andrew Gilding, a finalist in two Players Championship events this year and a top-10 player on form; few could have imagined that Gilding would be winning 57% of his legs against tour card-holding opponents in 2022.

He is one of only three players to have hit more than 45% of his doubles over the past 200 legs; in combination with a constantly rising average (now 9th, ahead even of Michael Smith), he poses an unexpected danger to all seeded players.

Few players are coming into the World Matchplay with more momentum than Dimitri Van den Bergh; no other qualifier has improved his averages as much as the 'Dream Maker' over the past month.

As made evident by back-to-back World Series titles after a disappointing spring campaign, Van den Bergh still retains the scoring power to reach a third consecutive final in Blackpool.

What of Peter Wright's odds of a second consecutive hoisting of the Phil Taylor Trophy?

In spite of his recent erratic form, Wright still maintains the 8th highest average over the past 200 legs, and has somehow managed to fire off a PDC-leading 23 ton-plus checkouts - but shares a quarter of the World Matchplay draw with Van den Bergh and Jonny Clayton, either of whom would be favourites on paper to knock out the defending champion.

This year's tournament is unusual in that so many players have qualified at a moment when their form is peaking, and so few players in the doldrums have qualified on the basis of months-old results - as such, the field is crowded with dozens of those 40 players who are all within a few points of each other at the top of the form rankings.

Follow Christopher on Twitter @ochepedia