- Premier League Darts
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Premier League File:Pdarts.jpg Tournament information Venue Various Location Various Country United Kingdom Established 2005 Organisation(s) PDC Format Legs Prize Fund £400,000 (2011) Month(s) Played February – May Current champion(s) 
Gary AndersonThe 888.com Premier League Darts (formerly White and Mackay Premier League) is a darts tournament which launched on January 20, 2005 on Sky Sports, and is currently the world's largest indoor sports event. 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 eight of the biggest names from the PDC circuit competing in a double round-robin format, with matches held across the country at different venues. The top four players in the PDC Order of Merit are joined by four wild card selections to make up the eight-man field.
The previous sponsors are Whyte & Mackay who succeeded Holsten having signed a three-year contract to support the event in October 2007.[1] The prize fund will rise from £265,000 to £340,000 in 2008 – with the guaranteed minimum of £20,000 (previously £15,000) for each player that qualifies. The winner currently receives £125,000.
Phil Taylor has dominated this event, winning five of the seven competitions to date. 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. In 2010, Phil Taylor won his 5th Premier League Darts title by defeating James Wade, who was the defending champion, 10–8 in the final.
Contents
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.
German sports channel DSF (Deutsches Sport Fernsehen) has broadcasted many matches of the past two years 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]
In the Netherlands, the 2011 Premier League Darts was broadcast on RTL7 and will continue to do so until 2013.
Sponsorship
The tournament has had three title sponsors since it was formed in 2005. They are 888.com (2005, 2011), Holsten (2006–2007) and Whyte and Mackay (2008–2010).
In January 2011, 888.com returned to be the title sponsor of the league.
Finals
Year Champion Score Runner-Up Sponsor Final Venue Best of 31 legs 2005 
Phil Taylor16–4 Colin Lloyd888.com G-Mex, Manchester 2006 Phil Taylor (101.41)16–6 
Roland Scholten (92.01)Holsten Plymouth Pavilions 2007 Phil Taylor (99.20)16–6 Terry Jenkins (90.81)Holsten The Brighton Centre 2008 Phil Taylor (108.36)16–8 James Wade (100.14)Whyte & Mackay Cardiff International Arena Best of 25 legs 2009 James Wade (90.38)13–8 Mervyn King (85.83)Whyte & Mackay Wembley Arena Best of 19 legs 2010 Phil Taylor (111.67)10–8 James Wade (100.08)Whyte & Mackay Wembley Arena 2011 Gary Anderson (94.67)10–4 Adrian Lewis (85.75)888.com Wembley Arena Tournament records
- Most titles: 5 – Phil Taylor
- 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)
- Whitewashes (since removal of "dead" legs in 2006): Colin Lloyd 8–0 Terry Jenkins (2007), "Phil Taylor 8–0 Wayne Mardle (2008)
- Most 180's in a single match - 11 Gary Anderson v Simon Whitlock (2011).[2][3]
Appearances
Phil Taylor is the only player to appear in every Premier League competition. Gary Anderson and Mark Webster were the latest players to make their debuts in the event in 2011. The top four in the PDC Order of Merit – Taylor, Anderson, James Wade, and World Champion Adrian Lewis – were joined in the 2011 competition by the four wild cards – Raymond van Barneveld, Simon Whitlock, Terry Jenkins, and Webster.
- 7 Phil Taylor 2005–2011
- 6 Raymond van Barneveld 2006–2011
- 5 Terry Jenkins 2007–2011
- 4 Peter Manley 2005–2008
- 4 Wayne Mardle 2005–2006, 2008–2009
- 4 Adrian Lewis 2007–2008, 2010–2011
- 4 James Wade 2008–2011
- 3 Colin Lloyd 2005–2007
- 3 John Part 2005, 2008–2009
- 3 Roland Scholten 2005–2007
- 2 Ronnie Baxter 2006, 2010
- 2 Mervyn King 2009–2010
- 2 Simon Whitlock 2010–2011
- 1 Gary Anderson 2011
- 1 Mark Dudbridge 2005
- 1 Jelle Klaasen 2009
- 1 Dennis Priestley 2007
- 1 Mark Webster 2011
References
- ^ Whyte & Mackay to sponsor Premier League planetdarts.tv
- ^ http://www.pdc.tv/page/PremierLeagueDetail/0,,10180~2344303,00.html%7C 888.com Premier League Darts - Night 11
- ^ 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/
External links
Professional Darts Corporation tournaments Main tournaments
(in playing order)Premier League · UK Open · World Matchplay · European Championship · Championship League · World Grand Prix · Grand Slam of Darts · PDC World ChampionshipPDC Pro Tour Other tournaments RTL7 Masters · World Cricket Championship · South African Open · PDC World Youth Championship · PDC World Cup of Darts · North American Darts Championship · US OpenFormer tournaments German Darts Championship · Las Vegas Desert Classic · International Darts League · World Darts Trophy · Masters of Darts · World Series of Darts · Jocky Wilson Cup · South African Masters · PDC Women's World ChampionshipCategories:
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