The 2016

Betway Betway is an online gambling company. Founded in 2006, it offers betting and gambling products including sportsbook and online casino. Betway has offices in London, Malta, Guernsey, and Cape Town, South Africa. Overview The Betway brand holds lic ...

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 Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

and ended with the Play-offs at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

in London on 19 May. The tournament saw its first visit to the Netherlands after agreeing to go to the Ahoy Arena in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

on 12 May, joining 15 other venues across the UK and Ireland. This is the third year that the tournament was sponsored by

. Gary Anderson was the defending champion, but he lost to Phil Taylor 10–7 in the semi-finals.

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked number 3 in the world, having been number 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2 ...

won his second Premier League Darts title by beating Taylor 11–3 in the final. Van Gerwen also recorded the highest televised 3-dart average of 123.40 against Michael Smith during night 4 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Format

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

's Ahoy Arena became the first arena from outside the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

to host a Premier League event, it replaced the Brighton Centre.

Players

The players in this year's tournament were announced following the

2016 PDC World Darts Championship The 2016 William Hill World Darts Championship was the 23rd World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event was held at the Alexandra Palace, London, between ...

final on 3 January 2016, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards. The ten players made up the top ten in the

PDC Order of Merit The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded f ...

following the World Championship.

Stephen Bunting Stephen Bunting (born 9 April 1985) is an English professional darts player who competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former Wor ...

(world number 16) and

Kim Huybrechts Kim Huybrechts (born 16 November 1985) is a Belgian professional darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He made the final of a major TV event, the 2012 Players Championship Finals, losing to Phil Taylor 1 ...

(world number 14) did not return from last year. Robert Thornton returned after a year out, and Michael Smith made his début.

Prize money

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.

Results

League stage

4 February – Week 1 (Phase 1)

First Direct Arena,

*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)

Metro Radio Arena The Utilita Arena Newcastle (formerly the Newcastle Arena, Telewest Arena and Metro Radio Arena) is a large indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global and sponsored by Utilita Energy, it hosts mu ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

*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)

3Arena, Dublin

25 February – Week 4 (Phase 1)

GE Oil & Gas Arena,

3 March – Week 5 (Phase 1)

Westpoint Arena, Exeter

10 March – Week 6 (Phase 1)

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Motorpoint Arena (originally the Nottingham Arena) is a multi-use indoor arena joined with the National Ice Centre in the Lace Market district of Nottingham, England. The National Ice Centre and Nottingham Arena were opened by Olympic gold m ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

17 March – Week 7 (Phase 1)

SSE Hydro, Glasgow

24 March – Week 8 (Phase 1)

Echo Arena Liverpool Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena, and previously Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, and ...

, Liverpool

31 March – Week 9 (Phase 1)

Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Cardiff International Arena (formerly known as Cardiff International Arena & Convention Centre and later, for sponsorship reasons, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff) is an indoor exhibition centre and events arena located in Cardiff, Wales, and was ope ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

7 April – Week 10 (Phase 2)

Motorpoint Arena,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

14 April – Week 11 (Phase 2)

SSE Arena Belfast The Odyssey Complex, formerly Odyssey Centre, is a sports and entertainment complex located within the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The complex originated in 1992 and came into fruition in June 1998. It opened in December 200 ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

21 April – Week 12 (Phase 2)

Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth

28 April – Week 13 (Phase 2)

Barclaycard Arena Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

5 May – Week 14 (Phase 2)

Manchester Arena Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights s ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

12 May – Week 15 (Phase 2)

Rotterdam Ahoy Rotterdam Ahoy (formerly known as Ahoy Rotterdam or simply as Ahoy) is a convention centre and multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened originally in 1950, the current complex consists of three main venues: a fairs ...

Play-offs – 19 May

The O₂ Arena,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" , - ! style="width:10px;" abbr="Position", # ! width=200 , Name ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Played", Pld ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Won", W ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Drawn", D ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Lost", L ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Points, Pts ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs For", LF ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs Against", LA ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Leg Difference", +/- ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs Won Against Throw", LWAT ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Tons", 100+ ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Ton Plus", 140+ ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Maximums", 180s ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Average", A ! style="width:20px;" abbr="High Checkout", HC ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Checkout Percentage", C% , - style="background:#cfc;" !1 , align=left, , , 16 , , 11 , , 4 , , 1 , , 26, , 105 , , 63 , , +42 , , 39 , , , , , , 62 , , 107.93 , , 170 , , 49.30% , - style="background:#ccffcc;" !2 , align=left, RU , , 16 , , 11 , , 2 , , 3 , , 24, , 100 , , 65 , , +35 , , 36 , , , , , , 52 , , 101.15 , , 141 , , 46.51% , - style="background:#ccffcc;" !3 , align=left, , , 16 , , 8 , , 4 , , 4 , , 20, , 92 , , 81 , , +11 , , 30 , , , , , , 48 , , 100.15 , , 144 , , 40.35% , - style="background:#ccffcc;" !4 , align=left, , , 16 , , 9 , , 1 , , 6 , , 19, , 89 , , 79 , , +10 , , 32 , , , , , , 38 , , 96.50 , , 144 , , 40.09% , - style="background:#cccffc;" !5 , align=left, , , 16 , , 6 , , 5 , , 5 , , 17, , 86 , , 86 , , 0 , , 27 , , , , , , 52 , , 99.04 , , 161 , , 40.00% , - style="background:#cccffc;" !6 , align=left, , , 16 , , 7 , , 2 , , 7 , , 16, , 82 , , 89 , , −7 , , 27 , , , , , , 35 , , 97.53 , , 161 , , 42.71% , - style="background:#cccffc;" !7 , align=left, , , 16 , , 5 , , 2 , , 9 , , 12, , 86 , , 94 , , −8 , , 25 , , , , , , 44 , , 97.88 , , 161 , , 38.05% , - style="background:#cccffc;" !8 , align=left, , , 16 , , 2 , , 2 , , 12 , , 6, , 60 , , 103 , , −43 , , 10 , , , , , , 33 , , 92.26 , , 145 , , 35.93% , - style="background:#ffcccc;" !9 , align=left, , , 9 , , 1 , , 1 , , 7 , , 3, , 41 , , 55 , , −14 , , 17 , , , , , , 37 , , 98.44 , , 116 , , 35.96% , - style="background:#ffcccc;" !10 , align=left, , , 9 , , 1 , , 1 , , 7 , , 3, , 34 , , 60 , , −26 , , 14 , , , , , , 24 , , 91.40 , , 122 , , 37.36% , - style="background:#ffcccc;" 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

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background:#cfc;", 4 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 4 , - , , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 3 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 2 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 1 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 1 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 3 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5 , - , , align=center , 5 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 3 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 5 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 4 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 4 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 6 , - , , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 3 , align=center , 5 , style="text-align:center; background:#cfc;", 3 , align=center , 5 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 6 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 7 , align=center , 7 , - , , style="text-align:center; 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background:#fcc;", 10 , style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;", 9 , style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;", 9 , style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;", 9 , style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;", 10 , style="text-align:center; background:#fcc;", 10

References

{{2016 in PDC darts

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...