2014 Premier League Darts

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]

2014 Betway Premier League Darts
Winner
Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
Runner-up
Netherlands 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 >

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

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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
Michael van Gerwen2nd21Winner (2013)PDC Order of Merit
Phil Taylor10th102Winner (2005–2008, 2010, 2012)PDC Order of Merit
Simon Whitlock5th53Runner-up (2012)PDC Order of Merit
Adrian Lewis7th54Runner-up (2011)PDC Order of Merit
Dave Chisnall1st15DebutPDC Wildcard
Peter Wright1st17DebutPDC Wildcard
Wes Newton2nd289th place (2013)PDC Wildcard
Robert Thornton2nd295th place (2013)PDC Wildcard
Raymond van Barneveld9th928Semi-finalist (2006–09, 2011, 2013)Sky Sports Wildcard
Gary Anderson4th417Winner (2011)Sky Sports Wildcard

Venues

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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

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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

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League stage

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Play-offs – 22 May

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The O2 Arena, London

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

Table and streaks

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Table

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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 Michael van Gerwen RU1611232410275+273920715655102.0016440.80%
2 Raymond van Barneveld W16763209882+16322401224697.4716050.52%
3 Phil Taylor16844209280+123724411141101.3614438.02%
4 Gary Anderson16925209482+12332371224697.8617043.32%
5 Peter Wright16655179586+9342631373797.0516141.48%
6 Adrian Lewis16556158390−7302001075495.3413038.07%
7 Dave Chisnall163491083101−18312181406496.6816437.73%
8 Robert Thornton16259984100−16262151256394.8613735.00%
9 Wes Newton922563954−1515129482593.8014931.71%
10 Simon Whitlock913553858−201399622592.9717043.18%

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 = AverageC% = Checkout PercentageHC = High Checkout.

Streaks

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Player1st Phase2nd PhasePlay-offs
123456789101112131415SFF
Michael van GerwenWWWLDWWWDWLWWLWWWL
Raymond van BarneveldWLWWDDDDDWWWWDLLWW
Phil TaylorLLLWLWWDWWWDDWDWL
Gary AndersonLWLWWLLWLWWDDWWWL
Peter WrightWDWWDWDLWLLLWDDLEliminated
Adrian LewisWWLLDWDDDLLLLDWW
Dave ChisnallWDLLDLDDWLWLLLLL
Robert ThorntonLLWDDLDDDNPLLLLDWLL
Wes NewtonLWWDDNPLLLDLEliminated
Simon WhitlockLLLLWLDDD
Legend:WWinDDrawLLossDNPDid not playEliminated

Positions by round

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PlayerRound
123456789101112131415
Michael van Gerwen121222111111111
Raymond van Barneveld353333333222222
Phil Taylor1099999665444333
Gary Anderson768645757555544
Peter Wright432111222333455
Adrian Lewis214564444677666
Dave Chisnall546888886766777
Robert Thornton687776578888888
Wes Newton875457999Eliminated
Simon Whitlock91010101010101010

References

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  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. ^ a b "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.
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