Premier League Darts

Premier League
Premier League
Tournament information
Venue	Various
Location	Various
Country	United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany
Established	2005
Organisation(s)	PDC
Format	Legs
Prize fund	£855,000 (2019)
Month(s) Played	February – May
Current champion(s)
	Jonny Clayton

Premier League Darts is a darts tournament which launched on 20 January 2005 on Sky Sports. The league is now played weekly from February to May, having originally started as a fortnightly fixture. The tournament originally featured seven players and now sees ten of the biggest names from the PDC circuit competing in a double round-robin format, with matches held across Europe at different venues. The top four players in the PDC Order of Merit are joined by six wildcard selections to make up the ten-man field. The current sponsor is Unibet.

The previous sponsors were McCoy's, Whyte and Mackay, who succeeded Holsten, having signed a three-year contract to support the event in October 2007,^[1] and 888.com. The prize fund rose from £265,000 to £340,000 in 2008, steadily increasing each year for a prize fund of £855,000 in 2019. The winner currently receives £250,000.

Phil Taylor has dominated this event, winning six of the thirteen tournaments he appeared in. He went unbeaten throughout the first three seasons before James Wade ended his 44 match run in the first match of the 2008 season. A new champion was to be crowned after Mervyn King defeated him in the 2009 semi-finals. Wade defeated King 13–8 in the final, to pick up the £125,000 first prize. Phil Taylor defeated James Wade the following season to claim his fifth title in the competition in 2010; however, he was defeated in the semi-final of the 2011 tournament. Gary Anderson became champion in his début season by defeating Adrian Lewis in a repeat of the world championship final earlier that year. Phil Taylor reclaimed the title the following year, after defeating Simon Whitlock in the 2012 final, but lost the 2013 final to Michael van Gerwen. A year later, Taylor – who lost four of his first five games of the season and only secured qualification to the playoffs on the final league night – lost to eventual champion Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-finals.

Although there have been six overall winners of the Premier League, the actual league stage has been dominated by Taylor and van Gerwen, with Taylor topping the table for each of the first eight editions and van Gerwen winning the next seven. In 2020, Glen Durrant became the third player to finish top after all league fixtures had been completed. He went on to win the title, meaning all three players both topped the table and won the play-offs at their first attempt.

Television coverage[]

The matches have been broadcast on Thursday nights on Sky Sports since the tournament inception. Originally the league alternated with Premier League Snooker one week and Premier League Darts the next. From 2006, the snooker moved to late autumn – giving the Premier League darts a straight weekly run in the spring.

American sports channel OLN aired the 2006 Premier League Darts season on a slight delay, in August 2006. In 2018 BBC America started airing Premier League Darts on Thursday nights. In 2020 BBC America started airing Premier League Darts on Sunday mornings.

German sports channel Sport1 broadcasts most matches live on TV and gives coverages of a selection of matches.

The PDC announced in January 2007 that the contract with Sky Television for coverage of the Premier League had been extended to 2010.^[2]

Sponsorship[]

The tournament has had six title sponsors since it was formed in 2005. They are 888.com (2005, 2011), Holsten (2006–2007), Whyte and Mackay (2008–2010), McCoy's (2012–2013) and Betway (2014–2017). Unibet was the sixth when they took over for the 2018 tournament.

Finals[]

Year	Final					Tournament
Year	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Best of	Venue	Prize-pool	Players	Venues	League winner
2005	Phil Taylor (101.01)	16–4	Colin Lloyd (97.20)	31 legs	G-Mex, Manchester	£150,000	7	11	Phil Taylor
2006	Phil Taylor (101.41)	16–6	Roland Scholten (92.01)		Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth	£167,500	7	11
2007	Phil Taylor (99.20)	16–6	Terry Jenkins (90.81)		The Brighton Centre, Brighton	£265,000	8	15
2008	Phil Taylor (108.36)	16–8	James Wade (100.14)		Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff	£340,000
2009	James Wade (90.38)	13–8	Mervyn King (85.83)	25 legs	Wembley Arena, London	£405,000
2010	Phil Taylor (111.67)	10–8	James Wade (100.08)	19 legs		£410,000
2011	Gary Anderson (94.67)	10–4	Adrian Lewis (85.75)			£410,000
2012	Phil Taylor (97.08)	10–7	Simon Whitlock (95.32)		The O₂ Arena, London	£450,000
2013	Michael van Gerwen (103.29)	10–8	Phil Taylor (104.10)			£520,000	10		Michael van Gerwen
2014	Raymond van Barneveld (101.93)	10–6	Michael van Gerwen (102.98)			£550,000		16
2015	Gary Anderson (104.85)	11–7	Michael van Gerwen (105.81)	21 legs		£700,000
2016	Michael van Gerwen (104.68)	11–3	Phil Taylor (98.84)			£725,000
2017	Michael van Gerwen (104.76)	11–10	Peter Wright (101.06)			£825,000
2018	Michael van Gerwen (112.37)	11–4	Michael Smith (97.01)					15^[a]
2019	Michael van Gerwen (103.36)	11–5	Rob Cross (100.98)				9^[b]	16
2020	Glen Durrant (91.84)	11–8	Nathan Aspinall (92.15)		Ricoh Arena, Coventry ^[c]		9^[b]	8^[d]	Glen Durrant
2021	Jonny Clayton (100.18)	11–5	José de Sousa (100.53)		Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes	£855,000	10	1^[e]	Michael van Gerwen
					Utilita Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne	£855,000	10	17

^ A scheduled night at Westpoint Arena was cancelled due to Storm Emma. An extra round was held at Rotterdam Ahoy to compensate.
^ 9 players played regularly, with 9 others serving as 'contenders' for each of the first 9 nights.
^ Final planned in the O₂ Arena in London, but moved to Coventry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ Eleven scheduled nights at ten venues were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rounds were held at Marshall Arena behind closed doors to compensate.
^ Sixteen scheduled nights at sixteen venues were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rounds were held at Marshall Arena behind closed doors to compensate.

Records and statistics[]

As of 28 May 2021.

Total finalist appearances[]

Rank	Player	Won	Runner-up	Finals	Appearances
1	Phil Taylor	6	2	8	13
2	Michael van Gerwen	5	2	7	9
3	Gary Anderson	2	0	2	10
4	James Wade	1	2	3	11
5	Raymond van Barneveld	1	0	1	14
	Glen Durrant	1	0	1	2
	Jonny Clayton	1	0	1	1
8	Colin Lloyd	0	1	1	3
	Roland Scholten	0	1	1	3
	Terry Jenkins	0	1	1	5
	Mervyn King	0	1	1	2
	Adrian Lewis	0	1	1	10
	Simon Whitlock	0	1	1	6
	Peter Wright	0	1	1	8
	Michael Smith	0	1	1	4
	Rob Cross	0	1	1	4
	Nathan Aspinall	0	1	1	2
	José de Sousa	0	1	1	1

Active players are shown in bold
Only players who reached the final are included
In the event of identical records, players are sorted by date first achieved

Champions by country[]

Country	Players	Total	First title	Last title
England	3	8	2005	2020
Netherlands	2	6	2013	2019
Scotland	1	2	2011	2015
Wales	1	1	2021	2021

Nine-dart finishes[]

Twelve nine-dart finishes have been thrown in the Premier League. The first one was in 2006, and the most recent one was in 2021.

Player	Year (+ Week)	Location	Method	Opponent	Result
Raymond van Barneveld	2006, Week 5	Bournemouth	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Peter Manley	8–3
Raymond van Barneveld	2010, Week 12	Aberdeen	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Terry Jenkins	8–6
Phil Taylor	2010, Final	London	T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18	James Wade	10–8
Phil Taylor	2010, Final	London	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	James Wade	10–8
Phil Taylor	2012, Week 2	Aberdeen	3 x T20; T20, 2 x T19; T20, T17, D18	Kevin Painter	8–5
Simon Whitlock	2012, Semi-Final	London	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18	Andy Hamilton	8–6
Adrian Lewis	2016, Week 11	Belfast	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	James Wade	7–5
Adrian Lewis	2017, Week 11	Liverpool	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Raymond van Barneveld	7–4
Michael Smith	2020, Week 4	Dublin	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Daryl Gurney	7–5
Peter Wright	2020, Night 11	Milton Keynes	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Daryl Gurney	6–8
Jonny Clayton	2021, Night 3	Milton Keynes	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	José de Sousa	7–3
José de Sousa	2021, Night 4	Milton Keynes	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Nathan Aspinall	6–6

Tournament records[]

Most titles: 6 – Phil Taylor
Most tournament appearances: 14 – Raymond van Barneveld
Most matches played: 211 – Raymond van Barneveld
Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches – Phil Taylor (2005–2008)
Biggest victories (league stage): 11–1 Phil Taylor v Wayne Mardle (2005), 11–1 Phil Taylor v Peter Manley (2005)
Biggest victories (playoff stages): 16–4 Phil Taylor v Colin Lloyd (2005 final)
Most 180s by one player in a single match: 11 – Gary Anderson v Simon Whitlock (2011).^[3]^[4] 11 – José de Sousa v Nathan Aspinall (2021).
Most 100+ averages in a season: 18 – Michael van Gerwen (2017). Van Gerwen became the first player to average over 100 in every match of a season.
Highest match average: 123.40 – Michael van Gerwen (2016)
Highest group stage overall average: 107.95 – Phil Taylor (2012)
Highest average in the final: 112.37 – Michael van Gerwen (2018)

Whitewashes[]

Year	Player	Legs	Player
2007	Terry Jenkins 87.32	0–8	Colin Lloyd 96.97
2008	Phil Taylor 96.97	8–0	Wayne Mardle 88.43
2012	James Wade 96.97	8–0	Simon Whitlock 80.79
2014	Phil Taylor 99.45	0–7	Michael van Gerwen 109.59
2015	James Wade 93.93	0–7	Michael van Gerwen 116.90
2016	Robert Thornton 75.68	0–7	Dave Chisnall 101.16
2016	Robert Thornton 88.38	0–7	Phil Taylor 102.15
2017	Adrian Lewis 94.53	0–7	Michael van Gerwen 110.75
2018	Raymond van Barneveld 96.58	0–7	Michael Smith 103.15
2019	Daryl Gurney 94.45	0–7	James Wade 109.59
2020	Jermaine Wattimena 81.24	0–7	Gerwyn Price 102.15
2021	Glen Durrant 84.42	0–7	Dimitri Van den Bergh 93.94

High averages[]

Ten highest Premier League one-match averages
Average	Player	Year (+ Round)	Opponent	Result
123.40	Michael van Gerwen	2016, Week 4	Michael Smith	7–1
119.50	Peter Wright	2017, Week 5	Adrian Lewis	7–2
117.95	Michael van Gerwen	2016, Week 10	Robert Thornton	7–5
117.35	Phil Taylor	2012, Week 4	Simon Whitlock	8–4
116.90	Michael van Gerwen	2015, Week 12	James Wade	7–0
116.67	Michael van Gerwen	2016, Week 5	Peter Wright	7–2
116.10	Phil Taylor	2012, Week 13	James Wade	8–1
116.01	Phil Taylor	2009, Week 12	John Part	8–3
115.80	Phil Taylor	2015, Week 7	Raymond van Barneveld	4–7
115.25	Phil Taylor	2016, Week 4	Dave Chisnall	7–5

Five highest tournament averages
Average	Player	Year
107.48	Michael van Gerwen	2016
106.73	Phil Taylor	2012
105.26	Michael van Gerwen	2015
104.68	Michael van Gerwen	2017
104.11	Michael van Gerwen	2018

Appearances[]

Since the tournament made its debut in 2005, Phil Taylor made an appearance in every Premier League competition until his retirement following the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship. Raymond van Barneveld competed in every Premier League from 2006 to 2019. From 2005 until the 2010 tournament, the top six players in the PDC Order of Merit after the PDC World Darts Championship automatically qualified, with one wildcard (2005 and 2006) and two wildcards (2007–2010) chosen by either the PDC or Sky Sports. From the 2011 tournament, only the top four in the PDC Order of Merit automatically qualified, with four wildcards (2011 and 2012) chosen by both the PDC and Sky Sports. In 2013, the tournament grew from eight players to ten, with the top four players in the PDC Order of Merit automatically qualifying and six other players chosen as Wildcards on the basis of their performance in the past year or in earlier editions of the Premier League.

In 2021 Dimitri Van den Bergh, José de Sousa and Jonny Clayton were the latest players to make their Premier League debuts.

Premier League players and performance[]

Player	#	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Phil Taylor	13	W	W	W	W	SF	W	SF	W	RU	SF	5	RU	SF	DNP
Colin Lloyd	3	RU	SF	5	Did not play
Peter Manley	4	SF	6	6	6	Did not play
Roland Scholten	3	SF	RU	8	Did not play
Mark Dudbridge	1	5	Did not play
John Part	3	6	DNP		8	6	Did not play
Wayne Mardle	4	7	7	DNP	5	WD	Did not play
Raymond van Barneveld	14	DNP	SF	SF	SF	SF	6	SF	5	SF	W	SF	7	6	6	9	DNP
Ronnie Baxter	2	DNP	5	Did not play			5	Did not play
Terry Jenkins	5	DNP		RU	7	5	8	7	Did not play
Dennis Priestley	1	DNP		SF	DNP	C	Did not play
Adrian Lewis	10	DNP		7	SF	C	7	RU	6	8	6	6	SF	8	Did not play
James Wade	11	Did not play			RU	W	RU	5	SF	SF	DNP	7	6	7	DNP	SF	DNP	6
Mervyn King	2	Did not play				RU	SF	Did not play
Jelle Klaasen	2	Did not play				7	Did not play							9	Did not play
Simon Whitlock	6	Did not play					SF	6	RU	6	10	Did not play			8	DNP
Gary Anderson	9	Did not play				C	DNP	W	8	10	SF	W	SF	SF	SF	WD	SF	8
Mark Webster	1	Did not play				C	DNP	8	Did not play
Andy Hamilton	2	Did not play							SF	7	Did not play
Kevin Painter	1	Did not play							7	Did not play
Michael van Gerwen	9	Did not play								W	RU	RU	W	W	W	W	6	SF
Robert Thornton	3	Did not play				C	Did not play			5	8	DNP	8	Did not play
Wes Newton	2	Did not play								9	9	Did not play
Peter Wright	8	Did not play									5	9	5	RU	7	8	SF	7
Dave Chisnall	4	Did not play									7	SF	9	5	Did not play
Stephen Bunting	1	Did not play										8	Did not play				C	DNP
Kim Huybrechts	2	Did not play										10	DNP	10	Did not play
Michael Smith	4	Did not play											10	DNP	RU	7	7	DNP
Rob Cross	4	Did not play													SF	RU	9	9
Daryl Gurney	3	Did not play													5	SF	8	DNP
Mensur Suljović	2	Did not play													9	6	DNP
Gerwyn Price	3	Did not play													10	5	5	WD
Nathan Aspinall	2	Did not play														C	RU	SF
Glen Durrant	2	Did not play														C	W	10
Dimitri Van den Bergh	1	Did not play														C	DNP	5
Jonny Clayton	1	Did not play															C	W
José de Sousa	1	Did not play																RU

Table Legend
W	Won in playoffs	RU	Runner-up	SF	Lost in the semi-finals	#	Place in table, not qualified for playoffs
#	Place in table, relegated	WD	Withdrew before tournament	WD	Withdrew during tournament	C	Challenger	DNP	Did not play at that year

When Gary Anderson withdrew from the 2019 season just before it began, Chris Dobey, Glen Durrant, Steve Lennon, Luke Humphries, John Henderson, Nathan Aspinall, Max Hopp, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Jeffrey de Zwaan were named as "contenders" to play in Anderson's place each of the first eight weeks.^[5]^[6] This format was extended – this time as part of the original schedule – to the 2020 season, with 9 regular players and 9 challengers. John Henderson, Fallon Sherrock, Jonny Clayton, William O'Connor, Luke Humphries, Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Jermaine Wattimena were the challengers.

References[]

^ Whyte & Mackay to sponsor Premier League Archived 3 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine planetdarts.tv
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "888.com Premier League Darts – Night 11". PDC. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
^ http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/sports-latest/2011/04/22/premier-league-super-scot-gary-anderson-breaks-180-record-during-demolition-of-simon-whitlock-86908-23078799/
^ "2019 Unibet Premier League Field Announced". Sky Sports. B Sky B. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
^ Phillips, Josh. "Premier League 'Contenders' To Replace Injured Anderson". PDC. Retrieved 4 February 2019.

External links[]

Premier League Darts page on the PDC website

[3] A scheduled night at Westpoint Arena was cancelled due to Storm Emma. An extra round was held at Rotterdam Ahoy to compensate.

[4] 9 players played regularly, with 9 others serving as 'contenders' for each of the first 9 nights.

[5] Final planned in the O₂ Arena in London, but moved to Coventry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[6] Eleven scheduled nights at ten venues were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rounds were held at Marshall Arena behind closed doors to compensate.

[7] Sixteen scheduled nights at sixteen venues were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rounds were held at Marshall Arena behind closed doors to compensate.

[1] Whyte & Mackay to sponsor Premier League Archived 3 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine planetdarts.tv

[2] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[8] "888.com Premier League Darts – Night 11". PDC. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.

[9] ttp://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/sports-latest/2011/04/22/premier-league-super-scot-gary-anderson-breaks-180-record-during-demolition-of-simon-whitlock-86908-23078799/

[10] "2019 Unibet Premier League Field Announced". Sky Sports. B Sky B. Retrieved 2 January 2019.

[11] Phillips, Josh. "Premier League 'Contenders' To Replace Injured Anderson". PDC. Retrieved 4 February 2019.

[1]

[2]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]