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.

2021 Ladbrokes Masters
Tournament information
Dates29–31 January 2021
VenueMarshall Arena
LocationMilton Keynes
Country England
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatLegs
Final: best of 21 legs
Prize fund£220,000
Winner's share£60,000
High checkout170  Michael Smith (x2)
170  Daryl Gurney
Champion(s)
 Jonny Clayton
«2020 2022»

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

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

Prize money

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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

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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  Joe Cullen 102.2661  Gerwyn Price 104.3710
17  Stephen Bunting 101.89416  Joe Cullen 92.563
1  Gerwyn Price 105.6010
24  Adrian Lewis 92.306
9  Michael Smith 95.7858  Gary Anderson 91.668
24  Adrian Lewis 96.95624  Adrian Lewis 98.5610
1  Gerwyn Price 99.4610
20  Mervyn King 97.1811
13  Glen Durrant 88.3614  Rob Cross 94.055
20  Mervyn King 101.97620  Mervyn King 101.6410
20  Mervyn King 101.7610
5  Nathan Aspinall 95.833
12  Ian White 88.5035  Nathan Aspinall 92.4510
21  Mensur Suljović 89.08621  Mensur Suljović 95.359
20  Mervyn King 94.958
18  Jonny Clayton 104.1011
15  José de Sousa 101.2952  Michael van Gerwen 96.569
18  Jonny Clayton 102.93618  Jonny Clayton 97.0410
18  Jonny Clayton 105.4110
7  James Wade 104.029
10  Dimitri Van den Bergh 89.0727  James Wade 97.8210
23  Chris Dobey 97.36623  Chris Dobey 94.574
18  Jonny Clayton 104.0911
3  Peter Wright 99.9510
14  Krzysztof Ratajski 91.7123  Peter Wright 101.5210
19  Simon Whitlock 97.95619  Simon Whitlock 105.908
3  Peter Wright 104.7210
6  Dave Chisnall 97.515
11  Daryl Gurney 89.5666  Dave Chisnall 97.8110
22  Jeffrey de Zwaan 85.10511  Daryl Gurney 96.199

References

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  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".