MICHAEL VAN GERWEN is the 8/11 odds-on favourite to win the BetVictor World Matchplay title later in July.

OVER 170 players will compete for places in the William Hill North American Championship and William Hill US Darts Masters.

SIX players will make their BetVictor World Matchplay debuts at the Winter Gardens later this month, while Michael van Gerwen will be the top seed for the prestigious 32-player event.

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN defeated William O'Connor in the final of the European Darts Matchplay to win his 26th European Tour title.

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN landed the PDC European Tour's first nine-dart finish for five years against Ryan Joyce on Saturday night.

ROBERT MARIJANOVIC produced the performance of the day with a 6-3 win over Jermaine Wattimena at the European Darts Matchplay, as the European Tour event began on Friday.

MAX HOPP, Vincent van der Voort and Jelle Klaasen headed the final qualifiers for the European Darts Matchplay.

THE draw and schedule of play for the European Darts Matchplay in Hamburg are now available.

THE RACE to qualify for the BetVictor World Matchplay remains tight with just one event to go before the qualification cut-off.

Christopher Kempf, the statistical analyst of the PDC, takes a look at why the 132 finish is a favourite amongst darts fans.