1997 World Matchplay
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox individual darts tournament
|tournament_name = 1997 Webster's World Matchplay
|image =
|dates = 28 July–2 August 1997
|venue = Winter Gardens
|location = Blackpool
|country = {{ENG}}
|organisation = PDC
|format = Legs
|prize_fund = £46,000
|winners_share = £12,000
|nine_dart =
|high_checkout = 164 {{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor
|winner = {{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor
|prev = 1996
|next = 1998
}}
The 1997 Webster's World Matchplay was the fourth time the World Matchplay darts tournament had been held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool from 28 July to 2 August 1997.
Two Preliminary round ties were decided even before the players could even reach the oche, with the USA's Larry Butler and Holland's Raymond Barneveld being disqualified for failing to arrive at the venue in enough time to play their rivals, allowing Dean Allsop and Mick Manning an easy passage to the first round.
This was brewery Samuel Webster's third and final year as tournament sponsor. The tournament was won by Phil Taylor.
Prize money
The prize fund was £46,000.{{cite web|title=World Matchplay 1997|url=https://mastercaller.com/tournaments/world-matchplay/1997|work=Mastercaller|access-date=5 February 2024}}
| class="wikitable" |
| colspan=2 | Position (no. of players)
! Prize money |
|---|
| Winner
| align=center | (1) | align=center | £12,000 |
| Runner-Up
| align=center | (1) | align=center | £6,000 |
| Third place
| align=center | (1) | align=center | £3,250 |
| Fourth place
| align=center | (1) | align=center | £2,750 |
| Quarter-finalists
| align=center | (4) | align=center | £1,700 |
| Second round
| align=center | (8) | align=center | £900 |
| First round
| align=center | (16) | align=center | £500 |
Seeds
There were eight seeds for the tournament.
{{columns-list|
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Evison
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Priestley
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Keith Deller
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner
- {{flagicon|SCO}} Jamie Harvey
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Bob Anderson
}}
Results
Players in bold denote match winners.{{cite web|title=1997 World Matchplay Results|url=http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=255|work=Darts Database|access-date=5 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914015843/http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=255|archive-date=14 September 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Results of World Matchplay 1997|url=https://mastercaller.com/tournaments/world-matchplay/1997/results|work=Mastercaller|access-date=5 February 2024}}{{cite web|title=World Matchplay 1997 – Bracket|url=https://mastercaller.com/tournaments/world-matchplay/1997/bracket|work=Mastercaller|access-date=5 February 2024}}
=Preliminary round=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%" |
| width=160px | Player
! Score ! width=160px | Player |
|---|
| align=right | John Ferrell {{flagicon|ENG}}
| align="center"| 6–1 | {{flagicon|ENG}} Paul Cook |
| align=right | Anthony Ridler {{flagicon|WAL}}
| align="center"| 6–1 | {{flagicon|USA}} Gerome Vardaro |
| align=right | Darryl Fitton {{flagicon|ENG}}
| align="center"| 6–4 | {{flagicon|ENG}} Ritchie Gardner |
| align=right | Andy Jenkins {{flagicon|ENG}}
| align="center"| 6–3 | {{flagicon|CAN}} Avtar Gill |
| align=right | Drew O'Neill {{flagicon|SCO}}
| align="center"| 6–4 | {{flagicon|CAN}} John Part |
| align=right | Richie Burnett {{flagicon|WAL}}
| align="center"| 6–1 | {{flagicon|ENG}} Colin Monk |
| align=right | Mick Manning {{flagicon|ENG}}
| align="center"| bye | {{flagicon|NED}} Raymond van Barneveld |
| align=right | Dean Allsop {{flagicon|ENG}}
| align="center"| bye | {{flagicon|USA}} Larry Butler |
=Last 32=
{{32TeamBracket
| RD1={{Nowrap|First round (best of 15 legs)
28–29 July}}
| RD2={{Nowrap|Second round (best of 15 legs)
30 July}}
| RD3={{Nowrap|Quarter-finals (best of 21 legs)
31 July}}
| RD4={{Nowrap|Semi-finals (best of 25 legs)
1 August}}
| RD5={{Nowrap|Final (best of 31 legs)
2 August}}
| team-width=200
| RD1-seed01=1
| RD1-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor 113.43
| RD1-score01=8
| RD1-seed02=
| RD1-team02={{flagicon|USA}} Gary Mawson 95.22
| RD1-score02=0
| RD1-seed03=Q
| RD1-team03={{flagicon|ENG}} Mick Manning 76.20
| RD1-score03=8
| RD1-seed04=
| RD1-team04={{flagicon|ENG}} Harry Robinson 78.21
| RD1-score04=3
| RD1-seed05=8
| RD1-team05={{flagicon|ENG}} Bob Anderson 85.62
| RD1-score05=8
| RD1-seed06=Q
| RD1-team06={{flagicon|ENG}} Dean Allsop 78.15
| RD1-score06=5
| RD1-seed07=
| RD1-team07={{flagicon|USA}} Steve Brown 86.49
| RD1-score07=8
| RD1-seed08=
| RD1-team08={{flagicon|USA}} Sean Downs 73.35
| RD1-score08=0
| RD1-seed09=5
| RD1-team09={{flagicon|ENG}} Keith Deller 75.84
| RD1-score09=4
| RD1-seed10=
| RD1-team10={{flagicon|ENG}} Kevin Spiolek 81.30
| RD1-score10=8
| RD1-seed11=Q
| RD1-team11={{flagicon|SCO}} Drew O'Neill 80.40
| RD1-score11=8
| RD1-seed12=Q
| RD1-team12={{flagicon|ENG}} John Ferrell 77.88
| RD1-score12=5
| RD1-seed13=4
| RD1-team13={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 101.22
| RD1-score13=8
| RD1-seed14=
| RD1-team14={{flagicon|ENG}} Cliff Lazarenko 89.37
| RD1-score14=2
| RD1-seed15=
| RD1-team15={{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Smith 86.07
| RD1-score15=8
| RD1-seed16=
| RD1-team16={{flagicon|ENG}} Eric Bristow 81.15
| RD1-score16=2
| RD1-seed17=2
| RD1-team17={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Evison 89.37
| RD1-score17=8
| RD1-seed18=
| RD1-team18={{flagicon|ENG}} Graeme Stoddart 73.17
| RD1-score18=1
| RD1-seed19=Q
| RD1-team19={{flagicon|WAL}} Anthony Ridler
| RD1-score19=8
| RD1-seed20=
| RD1-team20={{flagicon|USA}} Gerald Verrier
| RD1-score20=5
| RD1-seed21=7
| RD1-team21={{flagicon|SCO}} Jamie Harvey 87.57
| RD1-score21=6
| RD1-seed22=
| RD1-team22={{flagicon|USA}} Paul Lim 89.13
| RD1-score22=8
| RD1-seed23=Q
| RD1-team23={{flagicon|WAL}} Richie Burnett 93.57
| RD1-score23=8
| RD1-seed24=
| RD1-team24={{flagicon|ENG}} Chris Mason 88.05
| RD1-score24=5
| RD1-seed25=6
| RD1-team25={{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner 96.57
| RD1-score25=8
| RD1-seed26=
| RD1-team26={{flagicon|ENG}} Steve Raw 82.89
| RD1-score26=3
| RD1-seed27=
| RD1-team27={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Manley 84.63
| RD1-score27=8
| RD1-seed28=Q
| RD1-team28={{flagicon|ENG}} Darryl Fitton 83.55
| RD1-score28=6
| RD1-seed29=3
| RD1-team29={{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Priestley 85.77
| RD1-score29=8
| RD1-seed30=Q
| RD1-team30={{flagicon|ENG}} Andy Jenkins 84.51
| RD1-score30=6
| RD1-seed31=
| RD1-team31={{flagicon|ENG}} Shayne Burgess 93.36
| RD1-score31=15
| RD1-seed32=
| RD1-team32={{flagicon|ENG}} John Lowe 95.13
| RD1-score32=13
| RD2-seed01=1
| RD2-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor 92.01
| RD2-score01=8
| RD2-seed02=Q
| RD2-team02={{flagicon|ENG}} Mick Manning 74.91
| RD2-score02=2
| RD2-seed03=8
| RD2-team03={{flagicon|ENG}} Bob Anderson 88.23
| RD2-score03=8
| RD2-seed04=
| RD2-team04={{flagicon|USA}} Steve Brown 85.50
| RD2-score04=4
| RD2-seed05=
| RD2-team05={{flagicon|ENG}} Kevin Spiolek 79.50
| RD2-score05=8
| RD2-seed06=
| RD2-team06={{flagicon|SCO}} Drew O'Neill 68.85
| RD2-score06=4
| RD2-seed07=4
| RD2-team07={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 86.07
| RD2-score07=8
| RD2-seed08=
| RD2-team08={{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Smith 82.59
| RD2-score08=2
| RD2-seed09=2
| RD2-team09={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Evison
| RD2-score09=8
| RD2-seed10=Q
| RD2-team10={{flagicon|WAL}} Anthony Ridler
| RD2-score10=5
| RD2-seed11=
| RD2-team11={{flagicon|USA}} Paul Lim 84.54
| RD2-score11=7
| RD2-seed12=Q
| RD2-team12={{flagicon|WAL}} Richie Burnett 86.13
| RD2-score12=9
| RD2-seed13=6
| RD2-team13={{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner 92.91
| RD2-score13=8
| RD2-seed14=
| RD2-team14={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Manley 87.00
| RD2-score14=1
| RD2-seed15=3
| RD2-team15={{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Priestley 94.77
| RD2-score15=8
| RD2-seed16=
| RD2-team16={{flagicon|ENG}} Shayne Burgess 90.06
| RD2-score16=5
| RD3-seed01=1
| RD3-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor 97.29
| RD3-score01=11
| RD3-seed02=8
| RD3-team02={{flagicon|ENG}} Bob Anderson 88.92
| RD3-score02=2
| RD3-seed03=
| RD3-team03={{flagicon|ENG}} Kevin Spiolek 83.88
| RD3-score03=5
| RD3-seed04=4
| RD3-team04={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 93.51
| RD3-score04=11
| RD3-seed05=2
| RD3-team05={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Evison 91.11
| RD3-score05=9
| RD3-seed06=Q
| RD3-team06={{flagicon|WAL}} Richie Burnett 96.00
| RD3-score06=11
| RD3-seed07=6
| RD3-team07={{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner 101.55
| RD3-score07=11
| RD3-seed08=3
| RD3-team08={{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Priestley 97.23
| RD3-score08=7
| RD4-seed01=1
| RD4-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor 99.21
| RD4-score01=13
| RD4-seed02=4
| RD4-team02={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 95.31
| RD4-score02=9
| RD4-seed03=Q
| RD4-team03={{flagicon|WAL}} Richie Burnett 87.60
| RD4-score03=9
| RD4-seed04=6
| RD4-team04={{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner 91.05
| RD4-score04=13
| RD5-seed01=1
| RD5-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor 106.32
| RD5-score01=16
| RD5-seed02=6
| RD5-team02={{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner 98.43
| RD5-score02=11
}}
Third place playoff (best of 21 legs) {{Flagicon|ENG}} (4) Rod Harrington 11–10 Richie Burnett {{Flagicon|WAL}}