Jonny Clayton looks primed for a strong showing at this year’s World Matchplay and I’m backing him to see off Martin Schindler on Sunday night. Following a tough couple of years on the oche, ‘The Ferret’ has looked much more like his old self across the first half of the season. 

2023 Matchplay runner-up Clayton scooped his first European title in two years at the end of May and he has since played a vital role in Wales’ run to the World Cup of Darts final. The Welsh number one also picked up a couple of eye-catching victories over Gian van Veen and Josh Rock en route to the quarter-final stage of the Baltic Sea Darts Open last weekend.

While Schindler isn't going to be a pushover, I suspect Clayton’s nous and experience will be enough to see him secure a place in round two. It’s also worth noting that the Welshman defeated ‘Schindy’ at both the World Masters and the UK Open earlier this year.

Luke Littler will arrive at the Winter Gardens as the bookies’ favourite to lift the trophy. The teenage sensation’s Blackpool debut lasted just one match in 2024, so that will provide him with extra motivation in his quest for a maiden Matchplay crown. 

Unlike 12 months ago, Littler will head into this summer’s showpiece as a seeded player, so he should avoid another shock first-round exit by maintaining his 100% record against Ryan Searle (3-0). With ‘The Nuke’ too short to side with as a single selection at 1.14, instead look for him to win alongside hitting the most 180s at a much more attractive 1.5. 

No player on the PDC circuit has thrown more 180s than Littler this year, with the Warrington wonderkid comfortably leading the way with a staggering return of 500. A whopping 169 of those maximums arrived during the regular season of the 2025 Premier League, with Littler hitting a century of 180s before anyone else reached 50. 

Littler will be keen to send out an early statement of intent to the rest of the field and I’m expecting him to get past ‘Heavy Metal’ whilst winning the 180 battle for good measure.

The final fixture from Sunday evening’s session at the World Matchplay will see Stephen Bunting square off with Ryan Joyce. The two players came up against each other in the first round of last year’s World Matchplay, with Bunting claiming a hard-fought 12-10 victory on that occasion. While Joyce is a dogged player and more than capable of pushing Bunting to his limits again here, I’m backing ‘The Bullet’ to march on in Blackpool. 

The Scouse star is ranked number four in the world on the PDC Order of Merit and he arrives at the Winter Gardens having put in a string of strong displays on the World Series of Darts stage this year, most notably lifting both the Bahrain and Nordic Masters titles. The 40-year-old fan favourite also finished as runner-up at the recent Poland Darts Masters, thrashing Luke Littler 7-3 in the semi-finals.

If Bunting can carry that form into his opening match with Joyce, then he should avoid an unexpected early exit. What’s more, The Bullet has won four of his overall six meetings with Joyce, including each of the last three.