THE FACTS
When is Gary Anderson vs Danny Noppert taking place? Saturday 20th July, 2019
Where is Gary Anderson vs Danny Noppert taking place? Winter Gardens, Blackpool
What channel is Gary Anderson vs Danny Noppert on? Sky Sports Arena
Where can I stream Gary Anderson vs Danny Noppert? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for Gary Anderson vs Danny Noppert? Check https://www.pdc.tv/betfred-world-matchplay-tickets for ticket information
THE STATISTICS
All-time meetings: Gary Anderson 1-1 Danny Noppert
Last meeting: Danny Noppert 6-3 Gary Anderson
THE PLAYERS
GARY ANDERSON
- Gary Anderson is the defending champion at the World Matchplay having defeated Mensur Suljovic 21-19 in a thrilling final to win the title last year for the first time in what was his tenth appearance at the tournament.
- Anderson missed the 2019 Premier League campaign due to injury and barely played any competitive darts on the tour during the first six month of the year, but he showed no ill effects when he and Peter Wright guided Scotland to World Cup glory in June.
- Despite the World Cup triumph, he does come into the tournament on the back of disappointing exits in the two World Series events played in July as he lost to Gerwyn Price at the US Darts Masters and suffered a shock first-round defeat at the German Darts Masters to Nico Kurz.
DANNY NOPPERT
- 2017 BDO World Championship runner-up Danny Noppert is making his World Matchplay debut having made the switch to the PDC at the start of 2018.
- His best run in a PDC TV tournament since making the move from the BDO was at the Players Championship Finals last November where he reached the semi-finals before losing to the eventual champion Daryl Gurney.
- This is the second time that Noppert will have faced Anderson in a major TV tournament. In their previous meeting, Noppert lost 10-9 to Anderson in a high-quality match at the 2016 Grand Slam of Darts.
THE PREDICTION
Defending champion Gary Anderson has been given a tough first round opponent as he bids to retain the trophy that he won last July. Danny Noppert may be making his Matchplay debut but he is a quality operator who has enough big-game experience and talent to settle into the match and push Anderson all the way. The Flying Scotsman will need to dig deep to shake off Noppert in what is predicted to be a close game but Anderson should edge it.
