2021 Masters (darts)

Last updated
2021 Ladbrokes Masters
Tournament information
Dates29–31 January 2021
Venue Marshall Arena
Location Milton Keynes
CountryFlag of England.svg  England
Organisation(s) PDC
FormatLegs
Final: best of 21 legs
Prize fund£220,000
Winner's share£60,000
High checkout170 Flag of England.svg   Michael Smith (x2)
170 Ulster Banner.svg   Daryl Gurney
Champion(s)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton
«2020 2022»

The 2021 Ladbrokes Masters was the ninth staging of the non-ranking Masters darts tournament, held by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). It was held from 29 to 31 January 2021, behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England.

Contents

Peter Wright was the defending champion, after beating Michael Smith 11–10 in the 2020 final, [1] but he lost 11–10 to Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals.

In its first major change since its inception in 2013, the field was increased from 16 to 24 players, with the top 8 players entering at the second round.

Jonny Clayton won his first individual televised title, beating Mervyn King 11–8 in the final, and by winning the tournament, he also secured his place in the 2021 Premier League, which he won. [2] Clayton's winning run included a victory over Michael van Gerwen, which ended the so-called "van Gerwen curse", whereby any player who knocked out van Gerwen in a PDC major would subsequently lose in the next round. [3]

The final itself was notable, as if the usual format of 16 players had been maintained, neither of the two finalists would have qualified for the tournament.

Qualifiers

The Masters featured the top 24 players in the PDC Order of Merit after the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship, with the top 8 automatically qualifying for the second round. Dimitri Van den Bergh, Glen Durrant, Krzysztof Ratajski, José de Sousa, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Chris Dobey made their debuts in the event.

The following 24 players took part in the tournament:

  1. Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price (semi-finals)
  2. Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen (second round)
  3. Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright (semi-finals)
  4. Flag of England.svg   Rob Cross (second round)
  5. Flag of England.svg   Nathan Aspinall (quarter-finals)
  6. Flag of England.svg   Dave Chisnall (quarter-finals)
  7. Flag of England.svg   James Wade (quarter-finals)
  8. Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson (second round)
  9. Flag of England.svg   Michael Smith (first round)
  10. Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Dimitri Van den Bergh (first round)
  11. Ulster Banner.svg   Daryl Gurney (second round)
  12. Flag of England.svg   Ian White (first round)
  13. Flag of England.svg   Glen Durrant (first round)
  14. Flag of Poland.svg   Krzysztof Ratajski (first round)
  15. Flag of Portugal.svg   José de Sousa (first round)
  16. Flag of England.svg   Joe Cullen (second round)
  17. Flag of England.svg   Stephen Bunting (first round)
  18. Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Jonny Clayton (champion)
  19. Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Simon Whitlock (second round)
  20. Flag of England.svg   Mervyn King (runner-up)
  21. Flag of Austria.svg   Mensur Suljović (second round)
  22. Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jeffrey de Zwaan (first round)
  23. Flag of England.svg   Chris Dobey (second round)
  24. Flag of England.svg   Adrian Lewis (quarter-finals)

Prize money

The prize money was £220,000 in total, an increase of £20,000 from 2020 to incorporate the extra 8 players. [4]

Stage (no. of players)Prize money
(Total: £220,000)
Winner(1)£60,000
Runner-up(1)£25,000
Semi-finalists(2)£17,500
Quarter-finalists(4)£10,000
Second round losers(8)£5,000
First round losers(8)£2,500

Draw

First round
(best of 11 legs)
29 January
Second round
(best of 19 legs)
30 January
Quarter-finals
(best of 19 legs)
31 January
Semi-finals
(best of 21 legs)
31 January
Final
(best of 21 legs)
31 January
16 Flag of England.svg   Joe Cullen 102.2661 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price 104.3710
17 Flag of England.svg   Stephen Bunting 101.89416 Flag of England.svg   Joe Cullen 92.563
1 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price 105.6010
24 Flag of England.svg   Adrian Lewis 92.306
9 Flag of England.svg   Michael Smith 95.7858 Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson 91.668
24 Flag of England.svg   Adrian Lewis 96.95624 Flag of England.svg   Adrian Lewis 98.5610
1 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Gerwyn Price 99.4610
20 Flag of England.svg   Mervyn King 97.1811
13 Flag of England.svg   Glen Durrant 88.3614 Flag of England.svg   Rob Cross 94.055
20 Flag of England.svg   Mervyn King 101.97620 Flag of England.svg   Mervyn King 101.6410
20 Flag of England.svg   Mervyn King 101.7610
5 Flag of England.svg   Nathan Aspinall 95.833
12 Flag of England.svg   Ian White 88.5035 Flag of England.svg   Nathan Aspinall 92.4510
21 Flag of Austria.svg   Mensur Suljović 89.08621 Flag of Austria.svg   Mensur Suljović 95.359
20 Flag of England.svg   Mervyn King 94.958
18 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton 104.1011
15 Flag of Portugal.svg   José de Sousa 101.2952 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 96.569
18 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton 102.93618 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton 97.0410
18 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton 105.4110
7 Flag of England.svg   James Wade 104.029
10 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Dimitri Van den Bergh 89.0727 Flag of England.svg   James Wade 97.8210
23 Flag of England.svg   Chris Dobey 97.36623 Flag of England.svg   Chris Dobey 94.574
18 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jonny Clayton 104.0911
3 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright 99.9510
14 Flag of Poland.svg   Krzysztof Ratajski 91.7123 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright 101.5210
19 Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Simon Whitlock 97.95619 Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Simon Whitlock 105.908
3 Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright 104.7210
6 Flag of England.svg   Dave Chisnall 97.515
11 Ulster Banner.svg   Daryl Gurney 89.5666 Flag of England.svg   Dave Chisnall 97.8110
22 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jeffrey de Zwaan 85.10511 Ulster Banner.svg   Daryl Gurney 96.199

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References

  1. "Wright wins 2020 Ladbrokes Masters". PDC. 2 February 2020.
  2. "Clayton wins Ladbrokes Masters and final Premier League place". PDC. 31 January 2021.
  3. "Clayton ends curse of van Gerwen following masters victory". Darts News. 2 February 2021.
  4. "PDC Order of Merit Rules | PDC".