Phil Taylor was the defending champion, having won the last five stagings of the event,[1] and he won his sixth consecutive World Matchplay title and 14th in total by defeating Adrian Lewis 18–13 in the final.

[3] For the first time since the 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic, the top four players in the world all reached the semi-final stage.

[citation needed] For the fifth consecutive World Matchplay, the prize fund was £400,000.

However, this year, after consulting the host broadcaster Sky Sports, the PDC decided that games will now only proceed for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie-break leg is required.

[5] The top 16 in the PDC Order of Merit qualified as seeded players.