The field for the 2025 Betfred World Matchplay has been confirmed, as world number one Luke Humphries sets his sights on back-to-back titles in Blackpool later this month.
The 32-player field for the sport's summer showpiece was confirmed following the conclusion of Players Championship 21 in Leicester on Wednesday, which was won by former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks.
This year’s World Matchplay sees the sport's top names return to the iconic Winter Gardens from July 19-27, as a star-studded 32-player field compete for the coveted Phil Taylor Trophy.
They will go head-to-head across nine days of action in Blackpool, as the top 16 players from the Werner Rankings Ladder are joined by 16 qualifiers from the one-year ProTour rankings.
Reigning champion Humphries will be the top seed in the £800,000 event, as he bids to join Rod Harrington, Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen and become only the fourth player in history to retain the title.
World Champion Luke Littler returns to the Empress Ballroom as the number two seed, with three-time World Matchplay winner Van Gerwen seeded third.
Former Masters champion Stephen Bunting and 2023 World Matchplay runner-up Jonny Clayton will be fourth and fifth seeds respectively, while Chris Dobey enters the fray in sixth position.
Former World Matchplay champions Nathan Aspinall (eighth), James Wade (ninth), Rob Cross (tenth) will also be amongst the seeded stars, alongside 2022 finalist Gerwyn Price.
Scottish icons Gary Anderson and Peter Wright – champions in 2018 and 2021 respectively – also make up the top 16, as Anderson returns to the seeded positions for the first time in three years.
German number one Martin Schindler headlines the 16 ProTour qualifiers, based on prize money won in European Tour events and Players Championships within the last year.
Northern Ireland’s newly crowned World Cup winners Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney will both feature, as will World Youth Champion Gian van Veen - who was a Blackpool debutant 12 months ago.
Cameron Menzies and Wessel Nijman will be the two newcomers in this year’s field, while World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker makes his return alongside Dutch duo Dirk van Duijvenbode and Jermaine Wattimena.
The 16 ProTour qualifiers also include 2023 semi-finalist Joe Cullen and Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld, the World Matchplay runner-up back in 2010.
Van Barneveld claimed the penultimate spot in the 32-player field, with Ryan Joyce's qualification only confirmed in last-gasp fashion on Wednesday.
Joyce faced a nervous wait in his bid for qualification, fending off the challenge of Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski to secure a third appearance at the Empress Ballroom.
Ratajski – a semi-finalist in 2021 – needed to reach the Players Championship 21 final to overhaul Joyce, although he was beaten by Price in the last eight in Leicester, while Brooks' run to take a maiden ProTour title was not enough to secure him qualification.
Poland's premier player Ratajski will be one of several big-name absentees in Blackpool, with 2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith missing out on qualification for the first time since 2013.
European Champion Ritchie Edhouse also fell short in his qualification bid, while Dimitri Van den Bergh – the World Matchplay winner in 2020 – sees his run of five consecutive appearances come to an end.
The draw for the Betfred World Matchplay - which pits the PDC's top 16 against the 16 ProTour representatives – will be made on Thursday July 10, and will be posted on the PDC’s and Betfred’s social media channels.
2025 Betfred World Matchplay
Top 16 from the Werner Ladder Rankings
(Seeded for first round draw)
1. Luke Humphries
2. Luke Littler
3. Michael van Gerwen
4. Stephen Bunting
5. Jonny Clayton
6. Chris Dobey
7. Damon Heta
8. Nathan Aspinall
9. James Wade
10. Rob Cross
11. Gerwyn Price
12. Dave Chisnall
13. Gary Anderson
14. Ross Smith
15. Peter Wright
16. Danny Noppert
Qualifiers from ProTour Rankings
Martin Schindler
Josh Rock
Cameron Menzies
Gian van Veen
Wessel Nijman
Ryan Searle
Mike De Decker
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Jermaine Wattimena
Andrew Gilding
Daryl Gurney
Joe Cullen
Ricardo Pietreczko
Luke Woodhouse
Raymond van Barneveld
Ryan Joyce