2016 Premier League Darts

Darts competition

2016 Betway Premier League Darts

Winner
Michael van Gerwen
Runner-up
Phil Taylor
Score
11–3
Date
4 February–19 May 2016
Edition
12th
Number of players

Venues

Nine-dart finish
Adrian Lewis
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 4 February at the First Direct Arena in Leeds and ended with the Play-offs at The O2 Arena in London on 19 May. The tournament saw its first visit to the Netherlands after agreeing to go to the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam on 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]

Van Gerwen also recorded the highest televised 3-dart average of 123.40 against Michael Smith during night 4 in Aberdeen.

## Format

[edit]

The tournament format remained 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

[edit]

Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena became the first arena from outside the British Isles to host a Premier League event, it replaced the Brighton Centre.

Liverpool

Bournemouth

Glasgow

Exeter

Nottingham

Leeds

Cardiff

Sheffield

Aberdeen

Manchester

Birmingham

Newcastle

Rotterdam

London

Belfast

Dublin

class=notpageimage|

Locations of the 2016 Premier League venues in the British Isles

Rotterdam

class=notpageimage|

Locations of the 2016 Premier League venues in the Netherlands

Leeds |  Newcastle upon Tyne |  Dublin |  Aberdeen

|
|
|

First Direct Arena
Thursday 4 February  | Metro Radio Arena
Thursday 11 February  | 3Arena
Thursday 18 February  | GE Oil & Gas Arena
Thursday 25 February
|  |  |
Exeter |  Nottingham |  Glasgow |  Liverpool
Westpoint Arena
Thursday 3 March  | Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Thursday 10 March  | SSE Hydro
Thursday 17 March  | Echo Arena
Thursday 24 March
|  |  |
Cardiff |  Sheffield |  Belfast |  Bournemouth
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Thursday 31 March  | Sheffield Arena
Thursday 7 April  | SSE Arena Belfast
Thursday 14 April  | Bournemouth International Centre
Thursday 21 April
|  |  |
Birmingham |  Manchester |  Rotterdam |  London
Barclaycard Arena
Thursday 28 April  | Manchester Arena
Thursday 5 May  | Rotterdam Ahoy
Thursday 12 May  | The O2
Thursday 19 May
|  |  |

## Players

[edit]

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  | Winner (2013)  | Order of Merit
Gary Anderson | 6th  | 6  | 2  | Winner (2011, 2015)  | Order of Merit
Adrian Lewis | 9th  | 7  | 3  | Runner-up (2011)  | Order of Merit
Phil Taylor | 12th  | 12  | 4  | Winner (2005–2008, 2010, 2012)  | Order of Merit
Peter Wright | 3rd  | 3  | 5  | 5th (2014)  | PDC Wildcard
James Wade | 8th  | 2  | 6  | Winner (2009)  | PDC Wildcard
Robert Thornton | 3rd  | 1  | 7  | 5th (2013)  | PDC Wildcard
Michael Smith | 1st  | 1  | 8  | Debut  | PDC Wildcard
Raymond van Barneveld | 11th  | 11  | 9  | Winner (2014)  | Sky Sports Wildcard
Dave Chisnall | 3rd  | 3  | 10  | Semi-finals (2015)  | Sky Sports Wildcard

## Prize money

[edit]

The 2016 Premier League saw the introduction of a £25,000 League Leader's Bonus for the player who topped the league table following the 15 league nights, taking the total prize fund for the event up to £725,000 from £700,000 in 2015.[4]

Stage | Prize Money

|

Winner | £200,000
Runner-up | £100,000
Semi-finalists (x2) | £75,000
5th place | £60,000
6th place | £50,000
7th place | £45,000
8th place | £40,000
9th place | £30,000
10th place | £25,000
League Winner Bonus | £25,000
Total | £725,000

## Results

[edit]

### League stage

[edit]

[5]

#### 4 February – Week 1 (Phase 1)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
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 – Week 2 (Phase 1)

[edit]

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

|  | 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[citation needed]
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 – Week 3 (Phase 1)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Peter Wright 161
Most 180s: Dave Chisnall & Michael van Gerwen 5
Night's 180s: 36

#### 25 February – Week 4 (Phase 1)

[edit]

GE Oil & Gas 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
WR 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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 142
Most 180s: Phil Taylor 7
Night's 180s: 40

#### 3 March – Week 5 (Phase 1)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: James Wade 161
Most 180s: Gary Anderson,  Michael van Gerwen & Michael Smith 4
Night's 180s: 25

#### 10 March – Week 6 (Phase 1)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 161
Most 180s: Adrian Lewis & Phil Taylor 5
Night's 180s: 31

#### 17 March – Week 7 (Phase 1)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 170
Most 180s: Dave Chisnall 5
Night's 180s: 34

#### 24 March – Week 8 (Phase 1)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 144
Most 180s: Peter Wright 5
Night's 180s: 31

#### 31 March – Week 9 (Phase 1)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Phil Taylor 124
Most 180s: Gary Anderson 5
Night's 180s: 34

#### 7 April – Week 10 (Phase 2)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 138
Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6
Night's 180s: 30

#### 14 April – Week 11 (Phase 2)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 144
Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6
Night's 180s: 29
Nine-dart finish: Adrian Lewis

#### 21 April – Week 12 (Phase 2)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 142
Most 180s: Gary Anderson 5
Night's 180s: 22

#### 28 April – Week 13 (Phase 2)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 132
Most 180s: Peter Wright 7
Night's 180s: 22

#### 5 May – Week 14 (Phase 2)

[edit]

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[citation needed]
Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 167
Most 180s: Peter Wright 6
Night's 180s: 20

#### 12 May – Week 15 (Phase 2)

[edit]

Rotterdam Ahoy, 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Table

[edit]

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  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | Pts  | LF  | LA  | +/-  | LWAT  | 100+  | 140+  | 180s  | A[9] | HC  | C%

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Michael van Gerwen W | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 105 | 63 | +42 | 39 | 187 | 144 | 62 | 107.93 | 170 | 49.30%
2  |  Phil Taylor RU | 16 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 100 | 65 | +35 | 36 | 228 | 138 | 52 | 101.15 | 141 | 46.51%
3  |  Gary Anderson | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 92 | 81 | +11 | 30 | 222 | 134 | 48 | 100.15  | 144 | 40.35%
4  |  Adrian Lewis | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 89 | 79 | +10 | 32 | 223 | 109 | 38 | 96.50 | 144 | 40.09%
5  |  Peter Wright | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 86 | 86 | 0 | 27 | 239 | 142 | 52 | 99.04 | 161 | 40.00%
6  |  James Wade | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 82 | 89 | −7 | 27 | 256 | 143 | 35 | 97.53 | 161 | 42.71%
7  |  Raymond van Barneveld | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 86 | 94 | −8 | 25 | 244 | 169 | 44 | 97.88 | 161 | 38.05%
8  |  Robert Thornton | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 60 | 103 | −43 | 10 | 220 | 100 | 33 | 92.26 | 145 | 35.93%
9  |  Dave Chisnall | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 41 | 55 | −14 | 17 | 101 | 67 | 37 | 98.44 | 116 | 35.96%
10  |  Michael Smith | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 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

[edit]

Player  | Round

|

1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15
Michael van Gerwen | 6  | 6  | 4  | 2  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 2  | 2  | 2  | 2  | 1  | 1  | 1
Phil Taylor | 7  | 7  | 5  | 4  | 2  | 2  | 2  | 2  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 2  | 2  | 2
Gary Anderson | 7  | 8  | 9  | 8  | 6  | 6  | 3  | 3  | 3  | 4  | 4  | 3  | 3  | 3  | 3
Adrian Lewis | 2  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 3  | 5  | 4  | 4  | 3  | 3  | 4  | 4  | 4  | 4
Peter Wright | 3  | 2  | 1  | 1  | 3  | 5  | 6  | 6  | 6  | 6  | 6  | 7  | 6  | 5  | 5
James Wade | 5  | 3  | 6  | 6  | 5  | 4  | 4  | 5  | 5  | 5  | 5  | 5  | 5  | 6  | 6
Raymond van Barneveld | 3  | 5  | 3  | 5  | 7  | 7  | 7  | 7  | 7  | 7  | 7  | 6  | 7  | 7  | 7
Robert Thornton | 10  | 10  | 10  | 9  | 10  | 10  | 10  | 8  | 8  | 8  | 8  | 8  | 8  | 8  | 8
Dave Chisnall | 1  | 4  | 7  | 7  | 8  | 8  | 8  | 9  | 9  | Eliminated
Michael Smith | 9  | 9  | 8  | 10  | 9  | 9  | 9  | 10  | 10

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "2016 Betway Premier League Field". PDC. 3 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
2. ^ "2016 Betway Premier League Dates". PDC. 14 August 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
3. ^ "How Van Gerwen won the Premier League". BBC Sport. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
4. ^ "League Leader's Bonus Introduced". PDC. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016.
5. ^ http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/1khviz5m0rw812mm94p5cu2ie/title/2016%[permanent dead link]
6. ^ "Betway Premier League Fixtures". PDC. 26 January 2016. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
7. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Two". PDC. 26 January 2016.
8. ^ "News | PDC". Pdc.tv. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
9. ^ "2016 Premier League Stats: Tournament Average". Darts Database. Retrieved 15 March 2016.

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