Jonny Clayton and Luke Humphries arranged an enticing meeting; We’re back for more World Matchplay on Saturday at the iconic Winter Gardens as the final four battle it out for the Phil Taylor Trophy, live on Sky Sports Action at 8pm
By Raz Mirza in Winter Gardens, Blackpool
Jonny Clayton crashed in an impressive over six ton finish to set up a World Matchplay semi-final meeting with Luke Humphries at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens on Friday.
Clayton reached the semi-final at Winter Gardens for the first time after a 16-12 victory over Ryan Searle averaging 97.5, seven 180 and over six tons, while Humphries held off a late comeback from Damon Heta to win 16-13 in a match with more breaking shooting than stopping.
World Matchplay Quarterfinals: Friday, July 21
| Ryan Searle | 12-16 | Jonny Clayton |
| damon heta | 13-16 | luke humphries |
Searle and Clayton met in the first quarterfinal match of the night after the pair eliminated former champions Peter Wright and Dimitri Van den Bergh to reach the last eight.
The first four legs were shared with Clayton posting an excellent 118 checkout at double 19 to make it 2-2 before ‘Heavy Metal’ landed on top to move 3-2 in front with two 180s and an average of 106.40 to Clayton’s 102.23.
The relentless pace of the competition continued with both players putting up big numbers and big finishes.
Clayton racked up a brilliant 121 in the eighth leg, but Somerset bowler Searle struck with a 121 off the bull to tie 5–5.
In a huge battle, Searle, who produced the opening round performance to demolish Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld, before claiming another big scalp to defeat 2021 winner Peter Wright in the last 16, fired in a 180 sixth and 96 finish to regain the lead at 7-6.
Clayton, a former Premier League and World Grand Prix champion, added a third tonne more of the match with a 115 to level at 7-7 and then scored a fourth thanks to a magnificent 124 on the bull to make it 8-8.
‘The Ferret’ capitalized on Searle’s missed dart at the top with an outshot of 76 and kept his two-legged cushion for an 11-9 lead averaging 100.23 and shooting 65 percent in the doubles.
Welshman Clayton broke again with a genius call of 100 and then planted a remarkable sixth-final over a ton with a cracking 122 on the bull moments later to make it 13-9.
And Clayton, 48, reached his first World Matchplay semi-final by sinking double 15 with his first dart.
Winning this would mean a lot for family reasons. My dad is not very well and I want to do this for him. I’m very emotional. My dad is my biggest fan, so I want to do this for him. I’m still here fighting and I hope to be here this Sunday in the final.
Jonny Clayton wants to win the Matchplay for his sick father
Humphries then faced Australian number 1 Heta, who embraced the role of pantomime villain with his Ashes-themed walk-ons and did not disappoint when he returned for the third Test at the Empress Ballroom.
‘Cool Hand Luke’ survived a match dart to earn an epic second round playoff against Dirk van Duijvenbode and was in no mood for a repeat as he took a 3-2 lead at a 102.3 average.
The 28-year-old sank a tidy ton in tops-tops to move 5-4 in front, but Heta kept his cool and composure to hang on to Humphries’ coattails at double 16.
Humphries took out 68 and regained the lead at 7-6 before taking complete control of the contest when he opened a three-leg buffer at 10-7 at one contest break: 14 in 17 legs.
Former UK Open runner-up Humphries, who is yet to lift a televised ranking title, won a rare shot check with a score of 81 for a dart of 11 and a 12-8 band.
He then struck with a payout of 121 to stretch his lead before holding out in the next leg on top to move closer to victory at 14-8.
‘The Heat’ didn’t give up easily though, as they won three legs in the turn with a skin-saving 152 to make it 15-13.
But after missing two darts at the top, world number 6 Humphries completed the victory with two double 18s in a match that featured an incredible 20 break shots.
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World Matchplay Semi-Finals: Saturday, July 22
| joe cullen | against | nathan aspinall |
| Jonny Clayton | against | luke humphries |
Nathan Aspinall and Joe Cullen will meet in the first semi-final on Saturday night with Welsh World Cup winner Clayton and sixth seed Humphries meeting in the second quarter-final clash.
We’re back for more World Matchplay action at the iconic Winter Gardens on Saturday at 8:00pm as the final four battle it out for the Phil Taylor Trophy, live on Sky Sports Action from 8:00pm Stream the World Matchplay and more with NOW for £21 a month
