2015 Premier League Darts

The 2015 Betway Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the eleventh edition of the tournament. The event began at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on 4 February, and ended at The O2 Arena, London on 21 May. The tournament was shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland. This was the second year that the tournament was sponsored by Betway.

2015 Betway Premier League Darts
Winner
Scotland Gary Anderson
Runner-up
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
Score
11–7
Date
4 February–21 May 2015
Edition
11th
Number of players
10
Venues
16
Premier League Darts
< 2014 | 2015 | 2016 >

Raymond van Barneveld was the defending champion, but he lost to Michael van Gerwen 10–8 in the semi-finals. Gary Anderson won his second Premier League Darts title by beating van Gerwen 11–7 in the final.

For the first time in the Premier League's history, 6-time winner Phil Taylor did not qualify for the play-offs.

Format

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The tournament format was 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.

Players

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The competitors who competed at the tournament were announced following the 2015 PDC World Darts Championship final on 4 January 2015, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards.

Robert Thornton (world number 8), Wes Newton (number 16), and Simon Whitlock (number 7) did not return from last year. James Wade returned this year following his absence from the 2014 Premier League, along with two debutants, Kim Huybrechts, the first Belgian to compete in the league, and Stephen Bunting, the 2014 BDO world champion who had a successful first year with the PDC.[1]

PlayerAppearance in
Premier League
Consecutive
Streak
Order of Merit
rank
Previous best performanceQualification
Michael van Gerwen3rd31Winner (2013)Order of Merit
Phil Taylor11th112Winner (2005–2008, 2010, 2012)Order of Merit
Gary Anderson5th53Winner (2011)Order of Merit
Adrian Lewis8th64Runner-up (2011)Order of Merit
Peter Wright2nd255th (2014)PDC Wildcard
James Wade7th16Winner (2009)PDC Wildcard
Dave Chisnall2nd297th (2014)PDC Wildcard
Kim Huybrechts1st117DebutPDC Wildcard
Raymond van Barneveld10th1010Winner (2014)Sky Sports Wildcard
Stephen Bunting1st124DebutSky Sports Wildcard

Venues

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Prize money

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The prize money was dramatically increased to £700,000 from £550,000 in 2014.

StagePrize 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
Total£700,000

Results

League stage

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Play-offs – 21 May

The O2 Arena, London

Score
[17]
Semi-finals (best of 19 legs)
Dave Chisnall
98.34
9 – 10 Gary Anderson
98.40
Michael van Gerwen
106.44
10 – 8 Raymond van Barneveld
100.44
Final (best of 21 legs)
Michael van Gerwen
105.81
7 – 11 Gary Anderson
104.85
Night's Average: 102.38
Highest Checkout: Dave Chisnall 152

Table and streaks

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Table

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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 participate 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.

#NamePldWDLPtsLFLA+/-LWAT100+140+180sA[18]HCC%[19]
1 Michael van Gerwen RU1610332310171+303818315358105.1516047.87%
2 Dave Chisnall161024229767+303819112162101.3916142.17%
3 Gary Anderson W16925209080+10282121265799.8315238.14%
4 Raymond van Barneveld16835199082+8312271204897.6416141.86%
5 Phil Taylor16637158783+43024612443102.9515139.55%
6 Adrian Lewis16547147689−13231891195198.6314738.04%
7 James Wade16367127693−17262361442397.1217041.14%
8 Stephen Bunting16358117593−18261811124694.3716432.86%
9 Peter Wright914464057−1710144711893.7717036.96%
10 Kim Huybrechts912644259−177116712797.8317034.15%

Last updated: 15 May 2015
Source: Match reports from the results section.

Top four qualified for the Play-offs after Week 15.
NB: LWAT = Legs Won Against Throw. A = AverageC% = Checkout PercentageHC = High Checkout.

Streaks

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Player1st Phase2nd PhasePlay-offs
123456789101112131415SFF
Michael van GerwenWWWDDWWWWWLWLWLDWL
Dave ChisnallWWDWWLLWWWWLLWWDL
Gary AndersonWWLWLWWWDLDLWLWWWW
Raymond van BarneveldLLDWLLWLDWWWWWDWL
Phil TaylorLWWDWLLWLLWDDLLWEliminated
Adrian LewisWLDDLLDLWWWDLLWL
James WadeDWDLLWDWLLLDLDDL
Stephen BuntingDLLLWWDLDLLDWDLL
Peter WrightLLDDDWDLLEliminated
Kim HuybrechtsLLDLWLLLD
Legend:WWinDDrawLLossEliminated

Positions by round

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PlayerRound
12345678910111213141516
Michael van Gerwen3111211111111111
Dave Chisnall2222123322222222
Gary Anderson4353432233334333
Raymond van Barneveld10877798887753444
Phil Taylor7534344554445655
Adrian Lewis1666689976566566
James Wade5445555445688777
Stephen Bunting67910866668877888
Peter Wright910108107779Eliminated
Kim Huybrechts8989910101010

References

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  1. ^ "Premier League Darts: Stephen Bunting, Kim Huybrechts and James Wade included". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Betway Premier League Night One". PDC. 5 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Two". PDC. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Three". PDC. 19 February 2015. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Four". PDC. 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Five". PDC. 5 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Six". PDC. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Seven". PDC. 19 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Eight". PDC. 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Betway Premier League Judgement Night". PDC. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Ten". PDC. 9 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Eleven". PDC. 16 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Twelve". PDC. 23 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Thirteen". PDC. 30 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Fourteen". PDC. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  16. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Fifteen". PDC. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Magical Anderson's Betway Premier League Glory". PDC. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  18. ^ "2015 Premier League Stats: Tournament Average". Darts Database. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  19. ^ "2015 Premier League Stats: Checkout Percentage". Darts Database. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
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