| Tournament Name: | 1996 Webster's World Matchplay |
| Dates: | 28 July–3 August 1996 |
| Venue: | Winter Gardens |
| Location: | Blackpool |
| Organisation: | PDC |
| Format: | Legs |
| Prize Fund: | £48,000 |
| Winners Share: | £12,000 |
| Winner: | Peter Evison |
| Prev: | 1995 |
| Next: | 1997 |
The 1996 Webster's World Matchplay was the third time the World Matchplay darts tournament had been held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool between 28 July–3 August 1996.
Phil Taylor was the defending champion, but got knocked out by eventual champion Peter Evison by a convincing scoreline of 8–1 in the second round, with Evison averaging over 100. Evison would go onto to record another ton-plus average in the final against Dennis Priestley (who appeared in his third consecutive - and final - World Matchplay final).
The prize fund was £48,000.[1]
| Position (no. of players) | Prize money (Total: £48,000) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | align=center | (1) | align=center | £12,000 |
| Runner-Up | align=center | (1) | align=center | £7,000 |
| Third place | align=center | (1) | align=center | £3,750 |
| Fourth place | align=center | (1) | align=center | £3,250 |
| Quarter-finalists | align=center | (4) | align=center | £1,650 |
| Second round | align=center | (8) | align=center | £925 |
| First round | align=center | (16) | align=center | £500 |
There were eight seeds for the competition.[2]
Players in bold denote match winners.[3] [4] [5]
(best of 9 legs, but need a 2 leg difference.)
| width=160px | Player | Score | width=160px | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=right | Mick Manning | 5–0 | Garry Haynes | |
| align=right | Peter Manley | 5–2 | Paul Cook | |
| align=right | Jerry Umberger  | 8–6 | Darren Peetoom | |
| align=right | Ritchie Gardner | 5–2 | Mark Sherwood | |
| align=right | Phil Gilman | 5–3 | Frans Harmsen | |
| align=right | Bruce Robbins | 5–2 | John Moore | |
| align=right | Gary Mawson | 5–1 | Joe Holmes | |
| align=right | Tom Kirby  | 7–5 | Jocky Wilson | |
Third place playoff (best of 21 legs) (4) Jamie Harvey 10–11 (6) Bob Anderson