1998 World Matchplay
{{Infobox individual darts tournament
|tournament_name = 1998 World Matchplay
|image =
|dates = 27 July–1 August 1998
|venue = Winter Gardens
|location = Blackpool
|country = {{ENG}}
|organisation = PDC
|format = Legs
|prize_fund = £58,000
|winners_share = £14,000
|nine_dart =
|high_checkout = 167 {{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner
|winner = {{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington
|prev = 1997
|next = 1999
}}
The 1998 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The tournament ran from 27 July–1 August 1998, and was won by Rod Harrington.
A classic final between Harrington and Ronnie Baxter was characterised with deadly finishing from Baxter, who led the final for most of the way, and Harrington's stubbornness in clinging on and keeping the match neck-and-neck. However, Harrington eventually trailed 14–17 and was only 1 leg from defeat. Baxter had a championship dart at double 20 in the 33rd leg but missed. At 17-17, a moment of significant darting history occurred when Harrington took out 125 via treble 15 and two consecutive double 20s. The standard check out route on 80 with two darts in hand had been, up to this point, almost invariably treble 20 and double ten. From then on, it would become more common to see players attempt the Harrington route. With Baxter (who had looked likely to regain the lead) demoralised, Harrington maintained a clear lead throughout the next leg, and sealed the title on double five.
Phil Taylor was the reigning champion going into the tournament, but lost 10-13 to Baxter in the quarter finals. Taylor had led 9-5 and 10-8.
Prize money
| class="wikitable" |
| colspan=2 | Position (no. of players)
! Prize money |
|---|
| Winner
| align=center | (1) | align=center | £14,000 |
| Runner-Up
| align=center | (1) | align=center | £7,000 |
| Semi-finalists
| align=center | (2) | align=center | £3,500 |
| Quarter-finalists
| align=center | (4) | align=center | £2,000 |
| Second round
| align=center | (8) | align=center | £1,250 |
| First round
| align=center | (16) | align=center | £750 |
Seeds
There were eight seeds for the competition.{{cite web|title=World Matchplay 1998|url=https://mastercaller.com/tournaments/world-matchplay/1998|work=Mastercaller|access-date=5 February 2024}}
{{columns-list|
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Manley
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Evison
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Priestley
- {{flagicon|CAN}} John Part
- {{flagicon|USA}} Steve Brown
}}
Results
Players in bold denote match winners.{{cite web|title=1998 World Matchplay Results|url=http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=254|work=Darts Database|access-date=5 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914020053/http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=254|archive-date=14 September 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Results of World Matchplay 1998|url=https://mastercaller.com/tournaments/world-matchplay/1998/results|work=Mastercaller|access-date=5 February 2024}}{{cite web|title=World Matchplay 1998 – Bracket|url=https://mastercaller.com/tournaments/world-matchplay/1998/bracket|work=Mastercaller|access-date=5 February 2024}}
{{32TeamBracket
| RD1={{Nowrap|First round (best of 15 legs)
26–27 July}}
| RD2={{Nowrap|Second round (best of 15 legs)
28 July}}
| RD3={{Nowrap|Quarter-finals (best of 25 legs)
29–30 July}}
| RD4={{Nowrap|Semi-finals (best of 25 legs)
31 July}}
| RD5={{Nowrap|Final (best of 35 legs)
1 August}}
| team-width=200
| RD1-seed01=1
| RD1-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 92.04
| RD1-score01=8
| RD1-seed02=
| RD1-team02={{flagicon|ENG}} Kevin Spiolek 86.79
| RD1-score02=4
| RD1-seed03=
| RD1-team03={{flagicon|USA}} Gary Mawson 89.82
| RD1-score03=9
| RD1-seed04=
| RD1-team04={{flagicon|USA}} Paul Lim 88.32
| RD1-score04=7
| RD1-seed05=8
| RD1-team05={{flagicon|USA}} Steve Brown 87.09
| RD1-score05=8
| RD1-seed06=
| RD1-team06={{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Smith 83.55
| RD1-score06=4
| RD1-seed07=
| RD1-team07={{flagicon|ENG}} Bob Anderson 85.62
| RD1-score07=8
| RD1-seed08=
| RD1-team08={{flagicon|ENG}} Cliff Lazarenko 81.75
| RD1-score08=2
| RD1-seed09=5
| RD1-team09={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Evison 95.64
| RD1-score09=4
| RD1-seed10=
| RD1-team10={{flagicon|ENG}} Keith Deller 94.80
| RD1-score10=8
| RD1-seed11=
| RD1-team11={{flagicon|ENG}} Mick Manning 91.32
| RD1-score11=9
| RD1-seed12=
| RD1-team12={{flagicon|ENG}} Reg Harding 89.70
| RD1-score12=7
| RD1-seed13=4
| RD1-team13={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Manley 91.02
| RD1-score13=8
| RD1-seed14=
| RD1-team14={{flagicon|ENG}} Ritchie Gardner 83.73
| RD1-score14=5
| RD1-seed15=
| RD1-team15={{flagicon|SCO}} Jamie Harvey 87.15
| RD1-score15=8
| RD1-seed16=
| RD1-team16={{flagicon|ENG}} Steve Raw 91.08
| RD1-score16=6
| RD1-seed17=2
| RD1-team17={{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner 92.46
| RD1-score17=8
| RD1-seed18=
| RD1-team18={{flagicon|ENG}} Harry Robinson 78.00
| RD1-score18=2
| RD1-seed19=
| RD1-team19={{flagicon|ENG}} Steve Beaton 87.30
| RD1-score19=8
| RD1-seed20=
| RD1-team20={{flagicon|ENG}} Shayne Burgess 87.06
| RD1-score20=4
| RD1-seed21=7
| RD1-team21={{flagicon|CAN}} John Part 87.18
| RD1-score21=5
| RD1-seed22=
| RD1-team22={{flagicon|ENG}} Chris Mason 90.78
| RD1-score22=8
| RD1-seed23=
| RD1-team23={{flagicon|USA}} Gerald Verrier 76.14
| RD1-score23=8
| RD1-seed24=
| RD1-team24={{flagicon|ENG}} Eric Bristow 73.44
| RD1-score24=5
| RD1-seed25=6
| RD1-team25={{flagicon|ENG}} Dennis Priestley 90.45
| RD1-score25=7
| RD1-seed26=
| RD1-team26={{flagicon|ENG}} John Ferrell 83.34
| RD1-score26=9
| RD1-seed27=
| RD1-team27={{flagicon|ENG}} Ronnie Baxter 89.34
| RD1-score27=14
| RD1-seed28=
| RD1-team28={{flagicon|ENG}} Andy Jenkins 81.75
| RD1-score28=12
| RD1-seed29=3
| RD1-team29={{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor 96.18
| RD1-score29=8
| RD1-seed30=
| RD1-team30={{flagicon|ENG}} Graeme Stoddart 80.10
| RD1-score30=1
| RD1-seed31=
| RD1-team31={{flagicon|ENG}} Robbie Widdows
| RD1-score31=8
| RD1-seed32=
| RD1-team32={{flagicon|ENG}} John Lowe
| RD1-score32=6
| RD2-seed01=1
| RD2-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 91.32
| RD2-score01=8
| RD2-seed02=
| RD2-team02={{flagicon|USA}} Gary Mawson 86.73
| RD2-score02=6
| RD2-seed03=8
| RD2-team03={{flagicon|USA}} Steve Brown 93.96
| RD2-score03=4
| RD2-seed04=
| RD2-team04={{flagicon|ENG}} Bob Anderson 92.13
| RD2-score04=8
| RD2-seed05=
| RD2-team05={{flagicon|ENG}} Keith Deller 81.12
| RD2-score05=8
| RD2-seed06=
| RD2-team06={{flagicon|ENG}} Mick Manning 90.21
| RD2-score06=6
| RD2-seed07=4
| RD2-team07={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Manley 90.99
| RD2-score07=8
| RD2-seed08=
| RD2-team08={{flagicon|SCO}} Jamie Harvey 92.16
| RD2-score08=6
| RD2-seed09=2
| RD2-team09={{flagicon|ENG}} Alan Warriner 93.69
| RD2-score09=7
| RD2-seed10=
| RD2-team10={{flagicon|ENG}} Steve Beaton 88.95
| RD2-score10=9
| RD2-seed11=
| RD2-team11={{flagicon|ENG}} Chris Mason 77.61
| RD2-score11=8
| RD2-seed12=
| RD2-team12={{flagicon|USA}} Gerald Verrier 68.19
| RD2-score12=3
| RD2-seed13=
| RD2-team13={{flagicon|ENG}} John Ferrell 87.72
| RD2-score13=5
| RD2-seed14=
| RD2-team14={{flagicon|ENG}} Ronnie Baxter 93.81
| RD2-score14=8
| RD2-seed15=3
| RD2-team15={{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor
| RD2-score15=8
| RD2-seed16=
| RD2-team16={{flagicon|ENG}} Robbie Widdows
| RD2-score16=2
| RD3-seed01=1
| RD3-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 92.04
| RD3-score01=14
| RD3-seed02=
| RD3-team02={{flagicon|ENG}} Bob Anderson 89.88
| RD3-score02=12
| RD3-seed03=
| RD3-team03={{flagicon|ENG}} Keith Deller 84.36
| RD3-score03=13
| RD3-seed04=4
| RD3-team04={{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Manley 89.07
| RD3-score04=9
| RD3-seed05=
| RD3-team05={{flagicon|ENG}} Steve Beaton 89.07
| RD3-score05=6
| RD3-seed06=
| RD3-team06={{flagicon|ENG}} Chris Mason 94.20
| RD3-score06=13
| RD3-seed07=
| RD3-team07={{flagicon|ENG}} Ronnie Baxter 97.05
| RD3-score07=13
| RD3-seed08=3
| RD3-team08={{flagicon|ENG}} Phil Taylor 99.48
| RD3-score08=10
| RD4-seed01=1
| RD4-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 92.82
| RD4-score01=13
| RD4-seed02=
| RD4-team02={{flagicon|ENG}} Keith Deller 82.65
| RD4-score02=10
| RD4-seed03=
| RD4-team03={{flagicon|ENG}} Chris Mason 97.74
| RD4-score03=11
| RD4-seed04=
| RD4-team04={{flagicon|ENG}} Ronnie Baxter 97.38
| RD4-score04=13
| RD5-seed01=1
| RD5-team01={{flagicon|ENG}} Rod Harrington 95.04
| RD5-score01=19
| RD5-seed02=
| RD5-team02={{flagicon|ENG}} Ronnie Baxter 94.08
| RD5-score02=17
}}