2014 Premier League Darts

Last updated

2014 Betway Premier League Darts
Winner
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld
Runner-up
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen
Score
10–6
Date
6 February–22 May 2014
Edition
10th
Number of players
10
Venues
16
Premier League Darts
< 2013 | 2014 | 2015 >

The 2014 Betway Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the tenth edition of the tournament. The event began at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Thursday 6 February, and ended at The O2 Arena, London on Thursday 22 May. The tournament was shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland. The new title sponsor was Betway. [1]

Contents

Michael van Gerwen was the defending champion and he reached the final this year, but lost 10–6 to Raymond van Barneveld who won his first Premier League title. [2]

Players

The competitors were announced on 1 January 2014 following the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship final, with the top four players from the PDC Order of Merit to be joined by six Wildcards. [3] [4] The tournament format is identical to that of 2013, whereby after nine weeks the bottom two players are relegated. All players play each other once at that point. The remaining eight will then compete against each other in the final six rounds for the play-offs places.

Andy Hamilton (world no. 11) and 2009 Premier League Champion James Wade (world no. 6) did not return from last year, Wade there by missing out for the first time in seven years. PDC chairman Barry Hearn explained the decision was made to give Wade a rest to enable him more time to gain treatment for his health issues, [5] but Wade released a statement the following day, describing the omission as "devastating" as he was "one of the four most consistent players in 2013". [6] Wade also said he didn't ask to be left out and didn't decline an invitation, and that, with regards to the reason given by Hearn that he could gain treatment for his bipolar disorder, "no medical professional has suggested I take a break". [6]

PlayerAppearance in
Premier League
Consecutive
Streak
Order of Merit
rank
Previous best performanceQualification
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen 2nd21PDC Order of Merit
Flag of England.svg Phil Taylor 102PDC Order of Merit
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simon Whitlock 5th53PDC Order of Merit
Flag of England.svg Adrian Lewis 7th54PDC Order of Merit
Flag of England.svg Dave Chisnall 1st15PDC Wildcard
Flag of Scotland.svg Peter Wright 1st17PDC Wildcard
Flag of England.svg Wes Newton 2nd28PDC Wildcard
Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Thornton 2nd29PDC Wildcard
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld 9th910Semi-finalist (2006–09, 2011, 2013)Sky Sports Wildcard
Flag of Scotland.svg Gary Anderson 4th417Sky Sports Wildcard

Venues

Week seven saw a tournament record attendance with 11,000 fans in Leeds, which was also the only new city introduced on the circuit this year, although Glasgow had a new arena with The SSE Hydro making its debut. [7]

Prize money

The prize-money was increased to £550,000 from £520,000 in 2013.

StagePrize Money
Winner£150,000
Runner-up£75,000
Semi-finallists (x2)£60,000
5th place£50,000
6th place£45,000
7th place£35,000
8th place£30,000
9th place£25,000
10th place£20,000
Total£550,000

Results

League stage

Play-offs – 22 May

Flag of England.svg The O2 Arena, London

Score
[23]
Semi-finals (best of 15 legs)
Michael van Gerwen Flag of the Netherlands.svg
101.18
8 – 7 Flag of Scotland.svg Gary Anderson
99.07
Raymond van Barneveld Flag of the Netherlands.svg
92.27
8 – 5 Flag of England.svg Phil Taylor
93.43
Final (best of 19 legs)
Michael van Gerwen Flag of the Netherlands.svg
102.98
6 – 10 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld
101.93
Night's Average:98.48
Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 116

Table and streaks

Table

After the first nine weeks, the bottom two in the table were eliminated from the competition. 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.

#NamePldWDLPtsLFLA+/-LWAT100+140+180sA [24] HCC% [25]
1 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen RU1611232410275+273920715655102.0016440.80%
2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld W16763209882+16322401224697.4716050.52%
3 Flag of England.svg Phil Taylor 16844209280+123724411141101.3614438.02%
4 Flag of Scotland.svg Gary Anderson 16925209482+12332371224697.8617043.32%
5 Flag of Scotland.svg Peter Wright 16655179586+9342631373797.0516141.48%
6 Flag of England.svg Adrian Lewis 16556158390−7302001075495.3413038.07%
7 Flag of England.svg Dave Chisnall 163491083101−18312181406496.6816437.73%
8 Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Thornton 16259984100−16262151256394.8613735.00%
9 Flag of England.svg Wes Newton 922563954−1515129482593.8014931.71%
10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simon Whitlock 913553858−201399622592.9717043.18%

Last updated: 16 May 2014
Source: Match reports from the results section.

Top four qualified for the Play-offs after Week 14.
NB: LWAT = Legs Won Against Throw. A = Average C% = Checkout Percentage HC = High Checkout.

Streaks

Player1st Phase2nd PhasePlay-offs
123456789101112131415SFF
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen WWWLDWWWDWLWWLWWWL
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld WLWWDDDDDWWWWDLLWW
Flag of England.svg Phil Taylor LLLWLWWDWWWDDWDWL
Flag of Scotland.svg Gary Anderson LWLWWLLWLWWDDWWWL
Flag of Scotland.svg Peter Wright WDWWDWDLWLLLWDDLEliminated
Flag of England.svg Adrian Lewis WWLLDWDDDLLLLDWW
Flag of England.svg Dave Chisnall WDLLDLDDWLWLLLLL
Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Thornton LLWDDLDDDNPLLLLDWLL
Flag of England.svg Wes Newton LWWDDNPLLLDLEliminated
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simon Whitlock LLLLWLDDD
Legend:WWinDDrawLLossDNPDid not playEliminated

Positions by round

PlayerRound
123456789101112131415
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Michael van Gerwen 121222111111111
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld 353333333222222
Flag of England.svg Phil Taylor 1099999665444333
Flag of Scotland.svg Gary Anderson 768645757555544
Flag of Scotland.svg Peter Wright 432111222333455
Flag of England.svg Adrian Lewis 214564444677666
Flag of England.svg Dave Chisnall 546888886766777
Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Thornton 687776578888888
Flag of England.svg Wes Newton 875457999Eliminated
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simon Whitlock 91010101010101010

References

  1. "Premier League Darts | PDC". Archived from the original on 6 February 2014.
  2. "Van Barneveld wins Premier League". BBC Sport.
  3. "Premier League Darts: Thrilling line-up announced for Sky Live action in 2014". skysports.com. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  4. "2014 Premier League Darts Field Announced". PDC . Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  5. "Premier League Darts: Thrilling line-up announced for Sky Live action in 2014". Sky Sports . Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Statement from James Wade Regarding the 2014 Premier League Darts". James Wade Official Website. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  7. "Darts: Sleepless Phil Taylor poised for Premier League fightback". stokesentinel.co.uk. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. "Betway Premier League Darts Week One". PDC. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  9. "Betway Premier League Darts Week Two". PDC. 13 February 2014. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  10. "Betway Premier League Darts Week Three". PDC. 20 February 2014.
  11. "Betway Premier League Darts Week Four". PDC. 27 February 2014.
  12. "Betway Premier League Darts Week Five". PDC. 6 March 2014.
  13. "Betway Premier League Darts Week Six". PDC. 13 March 2014.
  14. "Betway Premier League Darts Week Seven". PDC . Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  15. "Betway Premier League Darts Week Eight". PDC. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  16. "Betway Premier League Judgement Night". PDC. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  17. "Betway Premier League Darts Week Ten". PDC . Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  18. "Betway Premier League Darts Week 11". PDC . Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  19. "Betway Premier League Darts Night 12". PDC . Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  20. "Betway Premier League Night 13". PDC . Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  21. "Betway Premier League Darts Night 14". PDC . Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  22. "Betway Premier League Darts Night 15". PDC . Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  23. "Brilliant Barney's Premier League Glory". PDC . Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  24. "2014 Premier League Stats: Tournament Average". Darts Database. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  25. "2014 Premier League Stats: Checkout Percentage". Darts Database. Retrieved 16 May 2014.