Premier League Darts

Premier League Darts is a darts tournament which launched on 20 January 2005 on Sky Sports. Now played weekly from February to May, the event originally started as a fortnightly fixture in small venues around the United Kingdom. The tournament originally featured seven players, and now sees eight players from the PDC circuit competing in a knockout style format, with nights also hosted in Europe at different venues. The top four players in the PDC Order of Merit are joined by four wildcard selections to make up the eight-man field. Alongside the World Championship and the World Matchplay, it is considered part of the sport's Triple Crown. The current sponsor is Cazoo.

Premier League
Tournament information
VenueVarious
LocationVarious
CountryUnited Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany
Established2005
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatLegs
Prize fund£1,000,000 (2022)
Month(s) PlayedFebruary – May
Current champion(s)
 Jonny Clayton

While active, Phil Taylor dominated the 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, where Wade defeated King 13–8 in the final, to pick up the £125,000 first prize. Taylor defeated Wade the following season to claim his fifth title in the competition in 2010, achieving two nine-dart finishes in the final, the only player to achieve this accomplishment.

Although there have been six overall winners of the Premier League, the league stage has been dominated by Taylor and Michael 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.

The prize fund has risen from £265,000 in the early years of the tournament, steadily increasing each year for a prize fund of £1,000,000 in 2022. The winner currently receives £275,000.

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.[1]

Finals
Year Final Tournament
Champion Score Runner-up Best of Venue Prize-pool Sponsors Players Venues League winner
2005  Phil Taylor (101.01) 16–4  Colin Lloyd (97.20) 31 legs G-Mex, Manchester £150,000 888.com 7 11  Phil Taylor
2006  Phil Taylor (101.41) 16–6  Roland Scholten (92.01) Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth £167,500 Holsten
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 Whyte & Mackay
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) 888.com
2012  Phil Taylor (97.08) 10–7  Simon Whitlock (95.32) The O2 Arena, London £450,000 McCoy's
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 Betway 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) Unibet 15[lower-alpha 1]
2019  Michael van Gerwen (103.36) 11–5  Rob Cross (100.98) 9[lower-alpha 2] 16
2020  Glen Durrant (91.84) 11–8  Nathan Aspinall (92.15) Ricoh Arena, Coventry [lower-alpha 3] 8[lower-alpha 4]  Glen Durrant
2021  Jonny Clayton (100.18) 11–5  José de Sousa (100.53) Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes £855,000 10 1[lower-alpha 5]  Michael van Gerwen
2022 Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin £1,000,000 Cazoo[2] 8 17
  1. A scheduled night at Westpoint Arena was cancelled due to Storm Emma. An extra round was held at Rotterdam Ahoy to compensate.
  2. 9 players played regularly, with 9 others serving as 'contenders' for each of the first 9 nights.
  3. Final planned in the O2 Arena in London, but moved to Coventry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  4. 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.
  5. 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 62813
2  Michael van Gerwen 5279
3  Gary Anderson 20210
4  James Wade 12311
5  Raymond van Barneveld 10114
 Glen Durrant 1012
 Jonny Clayton 1011
8  Colin Lloyd 0113
 Roland Scholten 0113
 Terry Jenkins 0115
 Mervyn King 0112
 Adrian Lewis 01110
 Simon Whitlock 0116
 Peter Wright 0118
 Michael Smith 0114
 Rob Cross 0114
 Nathan Aspinall 0112
 José de Sousa 0111
  • 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

Thirteen nine-dart finishes have been thrown in the Premier League. The first one was in 2006, and the most recent one was in 2022.

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
3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
 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
 Gerwyn Price 2022, Night 3 Belfast 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12  Michael van Gerwen 6–5
3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12  James Wade 6–4

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)
  • Lowest group stage overall average: 86.36 – Glen Durrant (2021)
  • Highest average in the final: 112.37 – Michael van Gerwen (2018)

Whitewashes
Year Player Legs Player
200787.32 Terry Jenkins 0–8 Colin Lloyd 88.43
200896.97 Phil Taylor 8–0 Wayne Mardle 88.43
201296.97 James Wade 8–0 Simon Whitlock 80.79
201499.45 Phil Taylor 0–7 Michael van Gerwen 109.59
201593.93 James Wade 0–7 Michael van Gerwen 116.90
201675.68 Robert Thornton 0–7 Dave Chisnall 101.16
201688.38 Robert Thornton 0–7 Phil Taylor 102.15
201794.53 Adrian Lewis 0–7 Michael van Gerwen 110.75
201896.58 Raymond van Barneveld 0–7 Michael Smith 103.15
201994.45 Daryl Gurney 0–7 James Wade 109.59
202081.24 Jermaine Wattimena 0–7 Gerwyn Price 102.15
202184.42 Glen Durrant 0–7 Dimitri Van den Bergh 93.94
202299.10 Michael van Gerwen 6–0 Peter Wright 87.52

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 2022, the tournament shrank back down to eight.

In 2022 Joe Cullen was the latest player to make his Premier League debut.

Premier League players and performance
Player # 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
 Phil Taylor 13 W W W W SF W SF W RU SF 5 RU SF Did not play
 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 Did not play
 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 12 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 11 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 10 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 9 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 5 Did not play 10 DNP RU 7 7 DNP —
 Rob Cross 4 Did not play SF RU 9 9 DNP
 Daryl Gurney 3 Did not play 5 SF 8 DNP
 Mensur Suljović 2 Did not play 9 6 DNP
 Gerwyn Price 4 Did not play 10 5 5 WD —
 Nathan Aspinall 2 Did not play C RU SF DNP
 Glen Durrant 2 Did not play C W 10 DNP
 Dimitri Van den Bergh 1 Did not play C DNP 5 DNP
 Jonny Clayton 2 Did not play C W —
 José de Sousa 1 Did not play RU DNP
 Joe Cullen 1 Did not play —
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 reused for the 2020 season, with nine regular players and nine challengers; Henderson, Fallon Sherrock, Jonny Clayton, William O'Connor, Humphries, Bunting, Dobey, de Zwaan and Jermaine Wattimena were the challengers.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Allen, Dave. "Cazoo announced as new Premier League title sponsors". PDC. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. "888.com Premier League Darts – Night 11". PDC. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  4. "Premier League: Super Scot Gary Anderson breaks 180 record during demolition of Simon Whitlock - Daily Record".
  5. "2019 Unibet Premier League Field Announced". Sky Sports. B Sky B. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  6. Phillips, Josh. "Premier League 'Contenders' To Replace Injured Anderson". PDC. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
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