2009 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts |
---|
Winner |
James Wade |
Runner-up |
Mervyn King |
Score |
13–8 |
Date |
5 February–25 May 2009 |
Edition |
5th |
Number of players |
8 |
Venues |
15 |
Premier League Darts |
< 2008 | 2009 | 2010 > |
The 2009 Whyte & Mackay Premier League was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation.
The tournament kicked off at the Echo Arena Liverpool, which hosted the biggest ever crowd for a PDC event of almost 8,000 in 2008.
New venues in Edinburgh and Exeter joined some of the UK's biggest arenas, including Belfast's Odyssey Arena, Manchester's MEN Arena, Birmingham's National Indoor Arena, the Sheffield Arena and Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena.
The tournament came to a conclusion with the play-offs on Monday 25 May at the Wembley Arena – coinciding with the Football League play-offs at the neighbouring Wembley Stadium over the same weekend. Phil Taylor was defending his Whyte & Mackay Premier League title once again, however he failed to retain it after losing to Mervyn King 10–6 in the semi-finals. James Wade beat King 13–8 in the final, to claim the £125,000 first prize and the first Premier League not to be claimed by Taylor.
The top six players from the PDC Order of Merit following the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship were confirmed on 5 January. Jelle Klaasen and Wayne Mardle were named as the two Sky Sports wild card selections on 9 January. [1]
Qualifiers are as follows:
Fifteen venues were used in the 2009 Premier League, with the only changes from 2008 being Edinburgh and Exeter replacing Plymouth and Bournemouth.
Liverpool | Edinburgh | Coventry | Belfast | Newcastle |
---|---|---|---|---|
Echo Arena Liverpool 5 February | Royal Highland Showground 12 February | Ricoh Arena 19 February | Odyssey Arena 26 February | Metro Radio Arena 5 March |
Manchester | Brighton | Birmingham | Glasgow | Exeter |
MEN Arena 12 March | Brighton Centre 19 March | National Indoor Arena 26 March | SECC 2 April | Westpoint Arena 9 April |
Nottingham | Aberdeen | Sheffield | Cardiff | London |
Trent FM Arena 16 April | AECC 23 April | Sheffield Arena 30 April | Cardiff International Arena 7 May | Wembley Arena 25 May |
The prize fund increased again with the top prize now reaching £125,000, and the total prize fund rising to £400,000.
Stage | Prize Money | |
---|---|---|
Winner | £125,000 | |
Runner-up | £65,000 | |
Semi-finalists (x2) | £40,000 | |
5th place | £32,500 | |
6th place | £30,000 | |
7th place | £27,500 | |
8th place | £25,000 | |
High Checkout (per night) | £1,000 | |
Total | £400,000 |
5 February – Week 1
| 12 February – Week 2Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh
|
19 February – Week 3
| 26 February – Week 4
|
5 March – Week 5Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
| 12 March – Week 6
|
19 March – Week 7
| 26 March – Week 8National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
|
2 April – Week 9
| 9 April – Week 10
|
16 April – Week 11
| 23 April – Week 12
|
30 April – Week 13
| 7 May – Week 14Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
|
† – Wayne Mardle didn't play in week ten because of a virus. John Part played two matches in week ten, with Mardle due to play two matches in week eleven, giving Part the night off that week. [16] However, Mardle was rushed into hospital with mumps on 15 April, which ruled him out of week eleven. [17] This meant that Mervyn King and James Wade each played twice during week eleven, with Mardle now due to play five matches in the last three weeks. Mardle had been due to play two matches in both weeks thirteen and fourteen, which would give King the night off in Sheffield, and Wade the night off in Cardiff. [18] However, Mardle was re-admitted to hospital, ruling him out of week twelve, and in accordance with tournament regulations after missing three consecutive Premier League match nights, was removed from the tournament. Mardle's match results from the tournament were also annulled, hurting some of the remaining players more than others. Following Mardle's removal from the tournament, in order for each remaining night to have four matches, there was a series of challenge matches featuring Robert Thornton, Adrian Lewis, Dennis Priestley, Mark Webster and Gary Anderson. [19]
* – Phil Taylor's average of 116.01 was, at the time, the highest recorded three-dart average in televised darts history. He broke his own record of 114.53, set against Wes Newton during the 2008 UK Open.
Score | ||
---|---|---|
[20] | ||
Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) | ||
Phil Taylor 95.78 | 6 – 10 | Mervyn King 89.86 |
James Wade 97.93 | 10 – 8 | Raymond van Barneveld 95.26 |
Final (best of 25 legs) | ||
Mervyn King 85.83 | 8 – 13 | James Wade 90.38 |
High Checkout: Mervyn King 156 (Final) |
Pos | Name | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | LF | LA | +/- | LWAT | 100+ | 140+ | 180s | A | HC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Phil Taylor | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 88 | 58 | +30 | 29 | 194 | 128 | 56 | 104.43 | 170 |
2 | James Wade W | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 81 | 66 | +15 | 28 | 181 | 114 | 43 | 97.44 | 170 |
3 | Raymond van Barneveld | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 76 | 71 | +5 | 25 | 188 | 122 | 43 | 99.13 | 167 |
4 | Mervyn King RU | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 76 | 70 | +6 | 28 | 203 | 114 | 37 | 96.67 | 130 |
5 | Terry Jenkins | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 74 | 83 | −9 | 26 | 207 | 129 | 46 | 95.89 | 141 |
6 | John Part | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 63 | 86 | −23 | 18 | 180 | 72 | 25 | 92.38 | 150 |
7 | Jelle Klaasen | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 66 | 90 | −24 | 26 | 173 | 93 | 33 | 91.24 | 170 |
Top four qualify for Play-offs after Week 14.
NB: LWAT = Legs Won Against Throw. Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Player | Week | Play-offs | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | SF | F | ||||
Phil Taylor | W | W | D | L | D | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | L | — | |||||
James Wade | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | D | W | — | W | W | ||||
Raymond van Barneveld | L | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | D | W | D | L | — | |||||
Mervyn King | W | W | W | D | L | L | W | L | D | D | D | — | L | W | L | ||||
Terry Jenkins | D | D | L | L | L | W | L | D | L | D | W | D | — | ||||||
John Part | D | D | L | W | D | L | D | L | W | D | — | L | L | ||||||
Jelle Klaasen | D | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | D | D | L | L | |||||||
Wayne Mardle | — | — | Withdrawn | ||||||||||||||||
Challengers | Robert Thornton | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
Adrian Lewis | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
Dennis Priestley | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
Mark Webster | — | ||||||||||||||||||
Gary Anderson | — |
NB: W = Won; D = Drawn; L = Lost; N/A = Did Not Play; – indicates match did not count towards final standings
The following statistics are only for league stage games that contributed to the final standings. Annulled fixtures, challenge matches and play-offs are not included.
Philip Douglas Taylor is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "The Power", he dominated darts for over three decades and won 214 professional tournaments, including a record 85 major titles and a record 16 World Championships. In 2015, the BBC rated Taylor among the ten greatest British sportsmen of the last 35 years.
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World Darts Council (WDC). Sports promoter Eddie Hearn is the PDC chairman.
Wayne Elliot Mardle is an English former professional darts player who played in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). He was runner-up in three PDC majors, losing to Phil Taylor on each occasion. He was also a five-time world semi-finalist. He currently works as a pundit and commentator.
Mervyn King is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. Nicknamed The King, he has reached seven PDC major finals and reached a peak of No. 4 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is also the 2004 World Master.
Jelle Klaasen, nicknamed The Cobra, is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). In 2006, he became the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship, aged 21 at the time. He also is a Dutch Open champion.
James Martin Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He became the youngest player to win a major PDC title, when he won the 2007 World Matchplay at the age of 24. This record has since been broken by Michael van Gerwen. Wade has won eleven PDC majors, third in the all-time list behind Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.
Premier League Darts, known for sponsorship purposes in 2024 as BetMGM 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, gradually expanded to ten by 2013, before reduced again from 2022 to eight players from the Professional Darts Corporation 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-person field. Alongside the World Championship and the World Matchplay, it is considered part of the sport's Triple Crown.
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked No. 3 in the world, having been No. 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Van Gerwen is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
The 2006 Holsten Premier League the second year of the Professional Darts Corporation's popular darts league. The 2006 league was launched with the top six players in the PDC world rankings and the addition of a wildcard player, Raymond van Barneveld who decided to switch from the British Darts Organisation just weeks after reaching their 2006 World Championship final.
The 2007 Holsten Premier League was a major darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The prize money for the 2007 event increased by almost £100,000 compared to 2006. The overall fund was £265,000 with the eventual winner taking home £75,000. The inclusion of an eighth player meant that the league expanded from 10 to 14 weeks.
This is a list of some of the major events and competitions in the sport of darts in 2007. Raymond van Barneveld proved to be the most successful player with ten professional tournament wins across the PDC and BDO, including four majors.
Gary James Grant Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player playing in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed "The Flying Scotsman", after the famous steam train, he is a former BDO and WDF world number one, and a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2015 and 2016. He is regarded as one of the best darts players of all time.
The 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The prize money was increased by £75,000 compared to 2007. The overall fund was £340,000 with the eventual winner taking home £100,000.
The 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 15th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place between 17 December 2007 and 1 January 2008 at the Alexandra Palace, London, England.
This article documents all the events in the sport of darts over the course of 2009.
The 2009 Blue Square UK Open was the seventh year of the PDC darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was held at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, England, between 4–7 June 2009 and has the nickname, "the FA Cup of darts" as a random draw is staged after each round until the final.
The 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the sixth such running of the tournament.
The 2011 888.com Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the seventh edition of the tournament.
The 2012 McCoy's Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the eighth edition of the tournament. The event began at the Manchester Arena in Manchester on 9 February, and ended at The O2 Arena in London on 17 May.
Ricky Evans is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.