2018 Premier League Darts

European darts tournament

2018 Unibet Premier League Darts
Winner
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
Runner-up
England Michael Smith
Score
11–4
Dates
1 February–17 May 2018
Edition
14th
Number of players
10
Venues
15 (1 cancelled)
Premier League Darts
< 2017 | 2018 | 2019 >

The 2018 Unibet Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the fourteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 1 February at the 3Arena in Dublin and ended with the play-offs at The O2 Arena in London on Thursday 17 May. This was the first year that the tournament is sponsored by Unibet.

Michael van Gerwen won his fourth Premier League title (and his third in a row, after winning in 2016 and 2017[1]) by defeating Michael Smith 11–4 in the final.

This was also the first time that the event has had a round in Germany, when the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin hosted the 4th round on 22 February.

Storm Emma resulted in the Exeter round of the event being postponed on 1 March. This was the first time ever since the Premier League started in 2005 that a whole round in the league phase of Premier League Darts was postponed. The same extreme conditions would also go on to cause severe problems in the staging of that weekends UK Open in Minehead which resulted in the event having to be played entirely behind closed doors. In 2010, the play-offs were postponed for 24 hours after a power cut at Wembley Arena.[2]

Format

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

Venues

Republic of Ireland Dublin Wales Cardiff England Newcastle Germany Berlin
3Arena
Thursday 1 February 		Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Thursday 8 February 		Metro Radio Arena
Thursday 15 February 		Mercedes-Benz Arena
Thursday 22 February
England Exeter England Leeds England Nottingham Scotland Glasgow
Westpoint Arena
Thursday 1 March
(cancelled) 		First Direct Arena
Thursday 8 March 		Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Thursday 15 March 		SSE Hydro
Thursday 22 March
Northern Ireland Belfast England Liverpool England Sheffield Netherlands Rotterdam
SSE Arena Belfast
Thursday 29 March 		Echo Arena Liverpool
Thursday 5 April (Judgement Night) 		FlyDSA Arena
Thursday 12 April 		Rotterdam Ahoy
Wednesday 18 & Thursday 19 April
England Manchester England Birmingham Scotland Aberdeen England London
Manchester Arena
Thursday 26 April 		Arena Birmingham
Thursday 3 May 		BHGE Arena
Thursday 10 May 		The O2
Thursday 17 May

Players

The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship final on 1 January, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards.[3] This was the first time in the event's history in which Phil Taylor did not take part, following his decision to retire. Unlike in previous years the six wildcards were joint decisions by the PDC and Sky Sports this year. There were no PDC specific wildcards or Sky Sports specific wildcards.[4]

The tournament was noteworthy for its high-number of debuting players. Rob Cross qualified by right due to being in the world's top four at the end of the season, with wildcards going to World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney, Champions League winner Mensur Suljović, and world number 12 Gerwyn Price. In fact, only four of the previous year's ten players (van Gerwen, Wright, Anderson and van Barneveld) were included this year.

Player Appearance in
Premier League 		Consecutive
Streak 		Order of Merit
Rank 		Previous best performance Qualification
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 6th 6 1 Winner (2013, 2016, 2017) PDC Order of Merit
Scotland Peter Wright 5th 5 2 Runner-up (2017) PDC Order of Merit
England Rob Cross 1st 1 3 Debut PDC Order of Merit
Scotland Gary Anderson 8th 8 5 (4)[a] Winner (2011, 2015) PDC Order of Merit
Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 1st 1 6 Debut Wildcard
Austria Mensur Suljović 1st 1 7 Debut Wildcard
Australia Simon Whitlock 6th 1 9 Runner-up (2012) Wildcard
Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 13th 13 12 Winner (2014) Wildcard
England Michael Smith 2nd 1 10 10th (2016) Wildcard
Wales Gerwyn Price 1st 1 13 Debut Wildcard
  1. ^ Phil Taylor, who was ranked 4th in the PDC Order of Merit following the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship, retired following the tournament. Anderson therefore received the 4th automatic spot.

Prize money

The prize fund remained the same as last year, £825,000.[5]

Stage Prize money
Winner £250,000
Runner-up £120,000
Semi-finalists £80,000
5th place £65,000
6th place £55,000
7th place £50,000
8th place £45,000
9th place £30,000
10th place £25,000
League Winner Bonus £25,000
Total £825,000

League stage

[6][7]

1 February – week 1 (Phase 1)

Republic of Ireland 3Arena, Dublin

Score
[8]
Mensur Suljović Austria
103.71		 5–7 Australia Simon Whitlock
106.49
Gary Anderson Scotland
82.46		 5–7 England Michael Smith
89.12
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
93.23		 6–6 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
93.78
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
100.80		 7–2 England Rob Cross
98.85
Peter Wright Scotland
92.93		 6–6 Wales Gerwyn Price
93.51
Night's Average:[a] 95.49
Highest Checkout: Australia Simon Whitlock 160
Most 180s: Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 5
Night's 180s: 25

8 February – week 2 (Phase 1)

Wales Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

Score
[9]
Michael Smith England
99.15		 7–4 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney
101.96
Rob Cross England
87.74		 1–7 Australia Simon Whitlock
93.14
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
101.12		 5–7 Scotland Peter Wright
101.04
Gerwyn Price Wales
92.71		 3–7 Scotland Gary Anderson
99.22
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands
100.39		 7–5 Austria Mensur Suljović
102.55
Night's Average:[a] 97.90
Highest Checkout: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 170
Most 180s: Scotland Gary Anderson 5
Night's 180s: 28

15 February – week 3 (Phase 1)

England Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

Score
[10]
Mensur Suljović Austria
91.15		 2–7 England Michael Smith
94.80
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
95.97		 6–6 Wales Gerwyn Price
93.22
Peter Wright Scotland
102.32		 4–7 England Rob Cross
98.46
Gary Anderson Scotland
110.79		 3–7 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
110.62
Simon Whitlock Australia
94.34		 7–4 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
93.29
Night's Average:[a] 98.50
Highest Checkout: Scotland Gary Anderson 170
Most 180s: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 7
Night's 180s: 32

22 February – Week 4 (Phase 1)

Germany Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin

Score
[11]
Michael Smith England
87.32		 7–3 Australia Simon Whitlock
85.60
Gerwyn Price Wales
90.87		 3–7 Austria Mensur Suljović
106.20
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
103.42		 7–2 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney
96.90
Rob Cross England
96.46		 7–3 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
88.60
Peter Wright Scotland
104.65		 6–6 Scotland Gary Anderson
105.25
Night's Average:[a] 96.53
Highest Checkout: Scotland Gary Anderson 150
Most 180s: Scotland Gary Anderson & England Michael Smith 5
Night's 180s: 31

1 March – Initial Week 5 Cancelled

England Westpoint Arena, Exeter

The scheduled 5th week was cancelled due to Storm Emma. The matches, which were scheduled to be played that day, were instead played in Week 9 in Liverpool, with that week's games now being Judgement Night. In order to complete the schedule within the timescale, two rounds of Phase 2 were played on Wednesday 18 April and Thursday 19 April (Week 11) in the Rotterdam Ahoy complex.


8 March – Week 5 (Phase 1)

England First Direct Arena, Leeds

Score
[12]
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
100.17		 7–4 Australia Simon Whitlock
92.28
Gerwyn Price Wales
89.01		 5–7 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
91.65
Peter Wright Scotland
91.54		 1–7 Austria Mensur Suljović
103.01
Gary Anderson Scotland
99.54		 6–6 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney
94.62
Rob Cross England
96.22		 7–5 England Michael Smith
92.61
Night's Average:[a] 95.07
Highest Checkout: England Rob Cross & Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 121
Most 180s: England Rob Cross 5
Night's 180s: 24

15 March – Week 6 (Phase 1)

England Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

Score
[13]
Michael Smith England
95.02		 7–1 Scotland Peter Wright
82.91
Simon Whitlock Australia
96.38		 6–6 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney
99.11
Mensur Suljović Austria
94.65		 2–7 England Rob Cross
106.49
Gerwyn Price Wales
92.64		 3–7 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
104.80
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands
92.48		 6–6 Scotland Gary Anderson
93.67
Night's Average:[a] 96.15
Highest Checkout: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 152
Most 180s: Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney & Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 4
Night's 180s: 22

22 March – Week 7 (Phase 1)

Scotland SSE Hydro, Glasgow

Score
[14]
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
98.63		 7–3 Austria Mensur Suljović
96.26
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
101.56		 7–2 England Michael Smith
92.41
Gary Anderson Scotland
102.68		 7–4 Australia Simon Whitlock
104.13
Peter Wright Scotland
88.18		 1–7 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
99.76
Rob Cross England
102.57		 7–1 Wales Gerwyn Price
92.42
Night's Average:[a] 97.86
Highest Checkout: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 148
Most 180s: Scotland Gary Anderson 6
Night's 180s: 22

29 March – Week 8 (Phase 1)

Northern Ireland SSE Arena, Belfast

Score
[15]
Mensur Suljović Austria
97.94		 5–7 Scotland Gary Anderson
96.91
Michael Smith England
93.84		 7–2 Wales Gerwyn Price
87.44
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands
96.82		 2–7 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
104.47
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
98.53		 7–5 England Rob Cross
100.16
Simon Whitlock Australia
98.20		 6–6 Scotland Peter Wright
98.64
Night's Average: 97.29
Highest Checkout: England Michael Smith 160
Most 180s: Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 9
Night's 180s: 36

5 April – Week 9 (Phase 1 – Judgement Night)

England Echo Arena, Liverpool

The night was overshadowed by the sudden death of 5 time World Champion Eric Bristow, who suffered a heart attack outside the venue. His death was announced during the Gurney v Wright match. The crowd paid tribute to Bristow at the end of the night's play.

Score
[16]
Simon Whitlock Australia
81.94		 7–3 Wales Gerwyn Price
76.94
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands
96.58		 0–7 England Michael Smith
103.15
Gary Anderson Scotland
95.09		 5–7 England Rob Cross
92.30
Mensur Suljović Austria
95.39		 4–7 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
106.34
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
98.67		 6–6 Scotland Peter Wright
99.78
Night's Average: 94.62
Highest Checkout: Australia Simon Whitlock 164
Most 180s: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 10
Night's 180s: 36

12 April – week 10 (Phase 2)

England FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield

Score
[17]
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands
94.16		 3–7 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney
102.76
Gary Anderson Scotland
104.26		 7–2 Scotland Peter Wright
96.22
Simon Whitlock Australia
89.58		 1–7 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
102.37
Michael Smith England
96.34		 5–7 England Rob Cross
106.26
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands
86.78		 2–7 Scotland Peter Wright
95.16
Night's Average: 97.39
Highest Checkout: Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 158
Most 180s: Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 5
Night's 180s: 25

18 April – week 11A (Double Header, Phase 2)

Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam

Score
[18]
Michael Smith England
96.00		 2–7 Scotland Gary Anderson
109.91
Rob Cross England
96.09		 7–4 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney
91.71
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands
101.44		 7–3 Australia Simon Whitlock
89.49
Peter Wright Scotland
99.08		 7–5 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
106.87
Rob Cross England
98.22		 3–7 Scotland Gary Anderson
99.87
Night's Average: 99.82
Highest Checkout: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 148
Most 180s: Scotland Gary Anderson & England Rob Cross 7
Night's 180s: 27

19 April – week 11B (Double Header, Phase 2)

Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam

Score
[19]
Simon Whitlock Australia
90.58		 1–7 England Michael Smith
97.46
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
93.00		 3–7 Scotland Gary Anderson
109.73
Rob Cross England
96.44		 6–6 Scotland Peter Wright
92.22
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
103.73		 5–7 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
95.21
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
99.20		 7–1 Australia Simon Whitlock
85.28
Night's Average: 96.29
Highest Checkout: Scotland Gary Anderson 170
Most 180s: Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 7
Night's 180s: 32

26 April – week 12 (Phase 2)

England Manchester Arena, Manchester

Score
[20]
Peter Wright Scotland
97.86		 1–7 England Michael Smith
104.86
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
100.16		 6–6 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
104.96
Simon Whitlock Australia
96.78		 7–5 Scotland Gary Anderson
94.45
Raymond van Barneveld Netherlands
94.02		 6–6 England Rob Cross
94.55
Michael Smith England
96.28		 1–7 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
94.76
Night's Average: 97.87
Highest Checkout: Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 156
Most 180s: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 7
Night's 180s: 30

3 May – week 13 (Phase 2)

England Arena Birmingham, Birmingham

Score
[21]
Peter Wright Scotland
93.05		 7–4 Australia Simon Whitlock
90.68
Rob Cross England
101.71		 2–7 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
111.57
Daryl Gurney Northern Ireland
98.82		 6–6 England Michael Smith
99.36
Gary Anderson Scotland
96.64		 3–7 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
100.11
Night's Average: 98.99
Highest Checkout: Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 167
Most 180s: Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 6
Night's 180s: 17

10 May – week 14 (Phase 2)

Scotland BHGE Arena, Aberdeen

Score
[22]
Michael Smith England
93.45		 6–6 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
97.28
Simon Whitlock Australia
88.38		 6–6 England Rob Cross
89.86
Peter Wright Scotland
98.11		 6–6 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney
88.05
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
100.41		 5–7 Scotland Gary Anderson
98.28
Night's Average: 94.15
Highest Checkout: Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 126
Most 180s: England Rob Cross 5
Night's 180s: 28

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Please note these are not calculated properly and are not indicative of actual averages for each night.

Play-offs – 17 May

England The O2 Arena, London

Score
[23]
Semi-finals (best of 19 legs)
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
103.65		 10–6 England Rob Cross
96.04
Michael Smith England
97.49		 10–6 Scotland Gary Anderson
95.35
Final (best of 21 legs)
Michael van Gerwen Netherlands
112.37		 11–4 England Michael Smith
97.01
Night's Total Average: 100.32
Highest Checkout: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 128
Most 180s: Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 16
Night's 180s: 40

Table and streaks

Table

After the first nine weeks (phase 1), the bottom two in the table are eliminated. In the next six weeks (phase 2) the eight remaining players each play a further seven matches. The top four players then compete in the playoffs.

Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw. 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 Matches Legs Scoring
Pld W D L Pts LF LA +/- LWAT 100+ 140+ 180s A[24] HC C%
1 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen W 16 11 1 4 23 103 60 +43 38 192 128 56 103.56 170 45.37%
2 England Michael Smith RU 16 9 2 5 20 90 66 +24 37 157 119 41 95.21 160 42.45%
3 Scotland Gary Anderson 16 8 3 5 19 95 80 +15 33 205 114 57 99.11 170 42.04%
4 England Rob Cross 16 8 3 5 19 87 82 +5 32 192 103 54 97.33 144 44.85%
5 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 16 4 8 4 16 89 88 +1 32 195 132 67 96.77 167 38.70%
6 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 16 6 4 6 16 80 88 –8 27 215 131 42 95.01 167 38.28%
7 Scotland Peter Wright 16 4 6 6 14 74 94 –20 27 226 142 31 96.17 132 39.78%
8 Australia Simon Whitlock 16 5 3 8 13 74 92 –18 26 169 105 43 92.77 164 37.00%
9 Austria Mensur Suljović 9 2 0 7 4 40 53 –13 12 153 87 14 99.06 138 44.44%
10 Wales Gerwyn Price 9 0 2 7 2 32 61 –29 12 112 53 11 89.67 148 32.99%

Last updated: 10 May 2018
Source: Match reports from the results section.

Top four will qualify for the Play-offs after Week 14.
NB: LWAT = Legs won against throw. A = Average. C% = Checkout percentage. HC = High checkout.

Streaks

Player Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 14 Play-offs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11A 11B 12 13 14 SF F
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen W L W W W W W W W W L L D W W L W W
England Michael Smith W W W W L W L W W L L W W L D D W L
Scotland Gary Anderson L W L D D D W W L W W W W L L W L —
England Rob Cross L L W W W W W L W W W L D D L D L —
Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney D L D L D D W W D W L L W D D D Eliminated
Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld D W L L W D W L L L L W W D W D
Scotland Peter Wright D W L D L L L D D L W W D L W D
Australia Simon Whitlock W W W L L D L D W L L L L W L D
Austria Mensur Suljović L L L W W L L L L Eliminated
Wales Gerwyn Price D L D L L L L L L
Legend: W Win D Draw L Loss — Eliminated

Positions by Week

Player Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 14
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11A 11B 12 13 14
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 1 5 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
England Michael Smith 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 2 2 2
Scotland Gary Anderson 9 6 6 6 7 6 5 4 5 4 3 2 4 4 3
England Rob Cross 10 10 9 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 4
Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 6 7 7 9 9 8 7 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 5
Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 4 3 5 7 5 5 4 6 7 7 7 6 6 6 6
Scotland Peter Wright 7 4 4 4 8 9 9 8 8 8 8 7 8 7 7
Australia Simon Whitlock 2 1 1 3 3 4 6 5 4 6 6 8 7 8 8
Austria Mensur Suljović 8 9 10 8 6 7 8 9 9 Eliminated
Wales Gerwyn Price 5 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10

References

  1. ^ "Premier League Darts: Michael Van Gerwen beats Peter Wright to win third title". BBC Sport. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Power Cut For Play-offs". pdc.tv. Professional Darts Corporation. 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  3. ^ Allen, Dave. "2018 Unibet Premier League Field Confirmed". PDC. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  4. ^ Hearn, Barry. "@BarryHearn". Twitter. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  5. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League - Event Information". PDC. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  6. ^ Allen, Dave. "2018 Unibet Premier League Fixtures". PDC. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  7. ^ Allen, Dave. "Unibet Premier League Nights Ten-15 Fixtures". PDC. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  8. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night One". PDC. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  9. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night Two". PDC. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  10. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night Three". PDC. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  11. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night Four". PDC. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  12. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night Five". PDC. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  13. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League - Nottingham". PDC. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  14. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League - Glasgow". PDC. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  15. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League - Belfast". PDC. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  16. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Judgement Night". PDC. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  17. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night Ten". PDC. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  18. ^ "2018 Premier League Night 11 - Rotterdam". PDC. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  19. ^ "2018 Premier League Night 12 - Rotterdam". PDC. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  20. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night 13". PDC. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  21. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night 14". PDC. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  22. ^ "2018 Unibet Premier League Night 15". PDC. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Van Gerwen Claims Fourth Premier League Title". PDC. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  24. ^ "2018 Premier League Stats: Tournament Average". Retrieved 1 February 2018.

External links

  • PDC Professional Darts Corporation, official website
  • PDC Professional Darts Corporation, official website, Tournaments
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