2016 Premier League Darts

2016 Premier League Darts
Winner
Michael van Gerwen
Runner-up
Phil Taylor
Score
11–3
Date
4 February–19 May
Edition
12th
Number of players
10
Venues
16
Premier League Darts
< 2015 | 2016 | 2017 >

The 2016 Betway Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the twelfth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 4 February at the First Direct Arena in Leeds and ended with the Play-Offs at The O2 Arena in London on Thursday 19 May. The tournament saw its first visit to the Netherlands after agreeing to go to Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam on Thursday 12 May, joining 15 other venues across the UK and Ireland.^[1][2] This is the third year that the tournament was sponsored by Betway.

Gary Anderson was the defending champion, but he lost to Phil Taylor 10–7 in the semi-finals. Michael van Gerwen won his second Premier League Darts title by beating Taylor 11–3 in the final.^[3][4]

Format

The tournament format is identical to that since 2013. During the first nine weeks (Phase 1) each player plays the other nine players once. The bottom two players are eliminated from the competition. In the next six weeks (phase 2) each player plays the other seven players once. Phase 2 consists of four weeks where five matches are played followed by two weeks where four matches are played. At the end of phase 2 the top four players contest the two semi-finals and the final in the play-off week.

Venues

Leeds Newcastle Dublin Aberdeen First Direct Arena Thursday 4 February Metro Radio Arena Thursday 11 February 3Arena Thursday 18 February GE Oil and Gas Arena Thursday 25 February Exeter Nottingham Glasgow Liverpool Westpoint Arena Thursday 3 March Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Thursday 10 March The SSE Hydro Thursday 17 March Echo Arena Liverpool Thursday 24 March Cardiff Sheffield Belfast Bournemouth Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Thursday 31 March Sheffield Arena Thursday 7 April SSE Arena Belfast Thursday 14 April BIC Thursday 21 April Birmingham Manchester Rotterdam London Barclaycard Arena Thursday 28 April Manchester Arena Thursday 5 May Ahoy Rotterdam Thursday 12 May The O2 Thursday 19 May Players The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship final on 3 January 2016, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards.[1] The ten players made up the top ten in the PDC Order of Merit following the World Championship. Stephen Bunting (world number 16) and Kim Huybrechts (world number 14) did not return from last year. Robert Thornton returned after a year out, and Michael Smith made his début. Player Appearance in Premier League Consecutive Streak Order of Merit Rank Previous best performance Qualification Michael van Gerwen 4th 4 1 1Winner (2013) Order of Merit Gary Anderson 6th 6 2 1Winner (2011, 2015) Order of Merit Adrian Lewis 9th 7 3 2Runner-up (2011) Order of Merit Phil Taylor b12th 12 4 1Winner (2005–2008, 2010, 2012) Order of Merit Peter Wright 3rd 3 5 55th (2014) PDC Wildcard James Wade 8th 2 6 1Winner (2009) PDC Wildcard Robert Thornton 3rd 1 7 55th (2013) PDC Wildcard Michael Smith 1st 1 8 9Debut PDC Wildcard Raymond van Barneveld a11th 11 9 1Winner (2014) Sky Sports Wildcard Dave Chisnall 3rd 3 10 3Semi-finals (2015) Sky Sports Wildcard League stage [5] 4 February (Phase 1, Round 1) First Direct Arena, Leeds Score [6] Peter Wright 99.16 7–2 Michael Smith 86.15 Michael van Gerwen 98.30 4–7 James Wade 97.43 Phil Taylor 92.34 2–7 Raymond van Barneveld 103.60 Robert Thornton 75.68 0–7 Dave Chisnall 101.16 Adrian Lewis 100.03 7–1 Michael Smith* 80.97 Night's Average: 93.48 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 167 Most 180s: Peter Wright & James Wade 5 Night's 180s: 24 *Gary Anderson was originally scheduled to play against Adrian Lewis, but was sidelined with an illness, so Michael Smith played twice in Round 1. Anderson played Lewis on 17 March (Round 7), giving Smith the night off. 11 February (Phase 1, Round 2) Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle Score [7] James Wade* 93.00 7–4 Michael Smith 91.74 Raymond van Barneveld 93.23 5–7 Peter Wright 88.19 Adrian Lewis 98.92 7–4 Dave Chisnall 98.80 Gary Anderson 106.23 3–7 Michael van Gerwen 111.88[8] James Wade 101.85 1–7 Phil Taylor 111.20 Night's Average: 99.5 Highest Checkout: Phil Taylor 127 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 25 *Robert Thornton was originally scheduled to play against Michael Smith, but was sidelined with an illness, so James Wade played twice in Round 2. Thornton played Smith on 24 March (Round 8), giving Wade the night off. 18 February (Phase 1, Round 3) 3Arena, Dublin Score Peter Wright 104.48 7–4 James Wade 98.96 Dave Chisnall 96.88 6–6 Michael Smith 93.73 Phil Taylor 100.83 7–4 Gary Anderson 93.38 Michael van Gerwen 106.40 7–4 Adrian Lewis 98.54 Robert Thornton 89.89 5–7 Raymond van Barneveld 102.60 Night's Average: 98.57 Highest Checkout: Peter Wright 161 Most 180s: Dave Chisnall & Michael van Gerwen 5 Night's 180s: 36 25 February (Phase 1, Round 4) GE Gas & Oil Arena, Aberdeen Score Adrian Lewis 99.55 7–5 James Wade 97.27 Gary Anderson 103.34 7–3 Raymond van Barneveld 98.89 Michael van Gerwen 123.40 7–1 Michael Smith 91.41 Phil Taylor 115.25 7–5 Dave Chisnall 109.63 Peter Wright 98.45 6–6 Robert Thornton 91.98 Night's Average: 102.92 Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 142 Most 180s: Phil Taylor 7 Night's 180s: 40 3 March (Phase 1, Round 5) Westpoint Arena, Exeter Score Phil Taylor 104.00 7–1 Adrian Lewis 93.11 Dave Chisnall 96.26 4–7 James Wade 102.25 Robert Thornton 85.80 4–7 Gary Anderson 89.88 Peter Wright 108.98 2–7 Michael van Gerwen 116.67 Michael Smith 95.77 7–5 Raymond van Barneveld 92.19 Night's Average: 98.49 Highest Checkout: James Wade 161 Most 180s: Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen & Michael Smith 4 Night's 180s: 25 10 March (Phase 1, Round 6) Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, Nottingham Score Michael Smith 95.54 3–7 Gary Anderson 102.19 Peter Wright 106.79 3–7 Adrian Lewis 107.93 Raymond van Barneveld 101.17 5–7 James Wade 100.50 Robert Thornton 88.38 0–7 Phil Taylor 102.15 Dave Chisnall 93.03 2–7 Michael van Gerwen 113.47 Night's Average: 101.12 Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 161 Most 180s: Adrian Lewis & Phil Taylor 5 Night's 180s: 31 17 March (Phase 1, Round 7) The SSE Hydro, Glasgow Score Gary Anderson 99.39 7–4 Adrian Lewis 93.00 James Wade 100.81 7–4 Robert Thornton 101.35 Michael van Gerwen 107.35 6–6 Phil Taylor 103.12 Raymond van Barneveld 104.90 7–4 Dave Chisnall 96.27 Gary Anderson 102.75 7–5 Peter Wright 101.31 Night's Average: 100.99 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 170 Most 180s: Dave Chisnall 5 Night's 180s: 34 24 March (Phase 1, Round 8) Echo Arena Liverpool, Liverpool Score Michael Smith 92.48 5–7 Robert Thornton 92.88 Gary Anderson 103.25 7–4 Dave Chisnall 100.01 Adrian Lewis 96.57 7–5 Raymond van Barneveld 98.35 Phil Taylor 101.51 6–6 Peter Wright 103.40 Michael van Gerwen 97.57 6–6 Robert Thornton 95.59 Night's Average: 98.16 Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 144 Most 180s: Peter Wright 5 Night's 180s: 31 31 March (Phase 1, Round 9 – Judgement Night) Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff Score James Wade 95.18 6–6 Gary Anderson 100.68 Michael Smith 94.82 5–7 Phil Taylor 99.92 Dave Chisnall 93.92 5–7 Peter Wright 97.14 Robert Thornton 92.54 4–7 Adrian Lewis 96.82 Raymond van Barneveld 101.69 6–6 Michael van Gerwen 105.59 Night's Average: 97.83 Highest Checkout: Phil Taylor 124 Most 180s: Gary Anderson 5 Night's 180s: 34 7 April (Phase 2, Round 1) Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield Score James Wade 97.25 7–4 Raymond van Barneveld 97.23 Gary Anderson 92.83 3–7 Phil Taylor 99.31 Robert Thornton 104.23 5–7 Michael van Gerwen 117.95 Adrian Lewis 88.68 6–6 Peter Wright 93.43 Phil Taylor 92.91 7–4 James Wade 91.50 Night's Average: 97.53 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 138 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 30 14 April (Phase 2, Round 2) SSE Arena Belfast, Belfast Score Robert Thornton 105.63 7–2 Peter Wright 92.48 Raymond van Barneveld 96.14 5–7 Phil Taylor 100.36 James Wade 95.95 5–7 Adrian Lewis 103.54 Michael van Gerwen 110.55 6–6 Gary Anderson 108.24 Raymond van Barneveld 92.53 7–4 Robert Thornton 88.16 Night's Average: 99.36 Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 144 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 29 Nine Dart Finish: Adrian Lewis 21 April (Phase 2, Round 3) Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth Score Michael van Gerwen 103.38 7–2 Peter Wright 98.30 Raymond van Barneveld 93.09 7–4 Adrian Lewis 90.42 Gary Anderson 103.07 6–6 James Wade 99.71 Phil Taylor 89.61 7–2 Robert Thornton 93.61 Adrian Lewis 92.98 5–7 Michael van Gerwen 96.82 Night's Average: 96.1 Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 142 Most 180s: Gary Anderson 5 Night's 180s: 22 28 April (Phase 2, Round 4) Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham Score Peter Wright 99.67 7–4 Phil Taylor 106.48 Raymond van Barneveld 99.64 5–7 Gary Anderson 99.19 Adrian Lewis 96.55 7–2 Robert Thornton 94.55 James Wade 102.40 1–7 Michael van Gerwen 108.33 Peter Wright 103.45 6–6 Gary Anderson 101.51 Night's Average: 101.18 Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 132 Most 180s: Peter Wright 7 Night's 180s: 22 5 May (Phase 2, Round 5) Manchester Arena, Manchester Score James Wade 97.29 1–7 Peter Wright 99.15 Gary Anderson 99.33 7–1 Robert Thornton 90.40 Michael van Gerwen 107.93 7–2 Raymond van Barneveld 100.78 Adrian Lewis 94.11 2–7 Phil Taylor 103.72 Night's Average: 99.09 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 167 Most 180s: Peter Wright 6 Night's 180s: 20 12 May (Phase 2, Round 6) Ahoy Rotterdam, Rotterdam Score Robert Thornton 85.57 3–7 James Wade 89.16 Peter Wright 90.33 6–6 Raymond van Barneveld 90.02 Adrian Lewis 93.22 7–2 Gary Anderson 97.21 Phil Taylor 95.55 5–7 Michael van Gerwen 101.24 Night's Average: 92.79 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 164 Most 180s : Michael van Gerwen 4 Night's 180s: 14 Play-Offs – 19 May The O2 Arena, London Score Semi-Finals (best of 19 legs) Michael van Gerwen 103.19 10–4 Adrian Lewis 95.47 Phil Taylor 98.21 10–7 Gary Anderson 96.86 Final (best of 21 legs) Michael van Gerwen 104.68 11–3 Phil Taylor 98.84 Night's Average: 99.54 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 121 League Summary Table After the first nine weeks (phase 1), the bottom two in the table are eliminated. Each remaining player plays a further seven matches (phase 2). The top four players then compete in the playoffs. When players are tied on points, leg difference is used first as a tie-breaker, after that legs won against throw and then tournament average. # Name Pts Pld W D L LF LA +/- LWAT 100+ 140+ 180s A[9] HC C% 1 van Gerwen, MichaelMichael van Gerwen 26 16 11 4 1 105 63 +42 39 187 144 62 107.93 170 49.30% 2 Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 24 16 11 2 3 100 65 +35 36 228 138 52 101.15 141 46.51% 3 Anderson, GaryGary Anderson 20 16 8 4 4 92 81 +11 30 222 134 48 100.15 144 40.35% 4 Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis 19 16 9 1 6 89 79 +10 32 223 109 38 96.50 144 40.09% 5 Wright, PeterPeter Wright 17 16 6 5 5 86 86 0 27 239 142 52 99.04 161 40.00% 6 Wade, JamesJames Wade 16 16 7 2 7 82 89 -7 27 256 143 35 97.53 161 42.71% 7 van Barneveld, RaymondRaymond van Barneveld 12 16 5 2 9 86 94 -8 25 244 169 44 97.88 161 38.05% 8 Thornton, RobertRobert Thornton 6 16 2 2 12 60 103 -43 10 220 100 33 92.26 145 35.93% 9 Chisnall, DaveDave Chisnall 3 9 1 1 7 41 55 -14 17 101 67 37 98.44 116 35.96% 10 Smith, MichaelMichael Smith 3 9 1 1 7 34 60 -26 14 103 42 24 91.40 122 37.36% Last updated: 12 May 2016 Source: Match reports from the results section. Top four qualified for the Play-Offs after Week 15. NB: LWAT = Legs Won Against Throw. A = Average C% = Checkout Percentage HC = High Checkout. Positions by round Player Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 van Gerwen, MichaelMichael van Gerwen 6 6 4 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 7 7 5 4 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 Anderson, GaryGary Anderson 7 8 9 8 6 6 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis 2 1 2 3 4 3 5 4 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 Wright, PeterPeter Wright 3 2 1 1 3 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 6 5 5 Wade, JamesJames Wade 5 3 6 6 5 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 van Barneveld, RaymondRaymond van Barneveld 3 5 3 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 7 7 Thornton, RobertRobert Thornton 10 10 10 9 10 10 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 Chisnall, DaveDave Chisnall 1 4 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 Eliminated Smith, MichaelMichael Smith 9 9 8 10 9 9 9 10 10 References "2016 Betway Premier League Field". PDC. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016. "2016 Betway Premier League Dates". PDC. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016. "Phil Taylor loses to Michael van Gerwen in Premier League Darts final as Power goes out at the O2 Arena". Daily Mail. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016. "How Van Gerwen won the Premier League". BBC Sport. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016. http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/1khviz5m0rw812mm94p5cu2ie/title/2016% "Betway Premier League Fixtures". PDC. 26 January 2016. "Betway Premier League Night Two". PDC. 26 January 2016. "News | PDC". Pdc.tv. 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2016-04-09. "2016 Premier League Stats: Tournament Average". Darts Database. Retrieved 15 March 2016.