PDC Media Release - Betfair Secure World Matchplay Sponsorship
Please find below and attached a media release confirming Betfair as the title sponsor of the Betfair World Matchplay, which will be held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool from July 21-29.
Attached, free for editorial use, is a picture of 2011 World Matchplay winner Phil Taylor with runner-up James Wade. Please credit "Lawrence Lustig/PDC" where applicable.
Kind regards
David Allen
PDC Media Manager
BETFAIR SECURE WORLD MATCHPLAY SPONSORSHIP
BETFAIR have been confirmed as the new title sponsors of the Betfair World Matchplay, which will be held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool from July 21-29.
The world^s biggest online betting exchange are linking up with the Professional Darts Corporation for the first time through their support of the £400,000 tournament, which will be screened live on Sky Sports.
The field for this year^s Betfair World Matchplay will be confirmed on Sunday night following the European Tour event in Dusseldorf, with the world^s top 16 players joined by 16 qualifiers from the ProTour Order of Merit in competing in Blackpool.
"We^re delighted to welcome Betfair as the title sponsors for the Betfair World Matchplay," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"They^re a brand known worldwide and we^re excited about their association with one of the biggest tournaments in darts.
"I firmly believe that the 2012 Betfair World Matchplay will be the best yet in the tournament^s history, with record sales of tickets accompanied by a fantastic line-up of players.
"The standard of play on the PDC circuit keeps rising all the time as our stars keep pushing each other in their quest for glory, and after seeing nine-dart finishes in Blackpool in each of the last two years I^m sure we^ll be in for another thrilling tournament."
Matt Robinson, Betfair^s International Director, said: "We^re excited to sponsor the Betfair World Matchplay at a time when darts continues to grow in popularity as a sport.
"It^s fast become one of the most watched events on television and we look forward to providing fans with all the excitement only the Betfair World Matchplay can deliver."
This year^s Betfair World Matchplay sees Phil Taylor bidding to win a record-equalling fifth successive title, to match his own unbeaten run from 2000-2004, and his 13th title at the Winter Gardens.
The field of competitors will also include former champions James Wade and Colin Lloyd, who won a Players Championship event last weekend to secure qualification, as well as current World Champion Adrian Lewis and former Blackpool finalists Raymond van Barneveld and Terry Jenkins.
The Betfair World Matchplay will be held from July 21-29 at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Tickets for the event are still available by calling the Winter Gardens Box Office on 0844 856 1111 or by visiting www.blackpoollive.com.
ENDS
About The PDC
The Professional Darts Corporation are the leading promoter of professional darts tournaments, with over £5 million prize money on offer in over 40 events worldwide each year.
The Betfair World Matchplay is the second-richest ranking tournament in professional darts, offering £400,000 in prize money with £100,000 to the champion. First held in 1994, it has been won by Phil Taylor 12 times (1995, 1997, 2000-2004, 2006, 2008-2011), by Rod Harrington twice (1998, 1999) and once by Larry Butler (1994), Peter Evison (1996), Colin Lloyd (2005) and James Wade (2007).
For further information about the Professional Darts Corporation, visit www.pdc.tv or contact:
David Allen, PDC Media Manager
E-mail: dave.allen@pdc.tv
Tel: 01277 359919
Twitter: @OfficialPDC
About Betfair (www.betfair.com)
Betfair is one of the world^s largest international online sports betting providers and pioneered the betting exchange in 2000.
Driven by cutting-edge technology, Betfair enables customers to bet at odds sought by themselves or offered by other customers. The company now processes over seven million transactions a day from its four million registered customers around the world. In addition to sports betting, Betfair offers a portfolio of innovative products including casino, exchange games and poker.
Betfair has twice been named the UK^s ^Company of the Year^ by the Confederation of British Industry and has won two prestigious Queen^s Awards for Enterprise, being recognised for Innovation in 2003 and most recently for International Trade in 2008. Betfair currently employs over 2,000 people worldwide. The company holds betting licences in Gibraltar, the US, Tasmania, Italy, Denmark and Malta.