2017 Premier League Darts

The 2017 Betway Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the thirteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 2 February at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle and ended with the Play-offs at The O2 Arena in London on Thursday 18 May. This was the fourth year that the tournament was sponsored by Betway.

2017 Betway Premier League Darts
Winner
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
Runner-up
Scotland Peter Wright
Score
11–10
Dates
2 February–18 May 2017
Edition
13th
Number of players
10
Venues
16
Nine Dart Finish
England Adrian Lewis
Premier League Darts
< 2016 | 2017 | 2018 >

Michael van Gerwen, the 2016 champion, retained his title by winning the last-leg decider against Peter Wright in the final, after Wright missed six darts to win 11–9. Kim Huybrechts became the first player in Premier League Darts history to fail to win a match in the tournament.[1]

Format

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The tournament format is 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 then 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

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In the only change from 2016, Brighton returned to the calendar, replacing Bournemouth.

Locations of the 2017 Premier League venues in the Netherlands
Newcastle Nottingham Leeds Brighton
Metro Radio Arena
Thursday 2 February
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham
Thursday 9 February
First Direct Arena
Thursday 16 February
Brighton Centre
Thursday 23 February
Exeter Glasgow Rotterdam Manchester
Westpoint Arena
Thursday 2 March
The SSE Hydro
Thursday 9 March
Rotterdam Ahoy
Thursday 16 March
Manchester Arena
Thursday 23 March
Cardiff Dublin Liverpool Belfast
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Thursday 30 March
3Arena
Thursday 6 April
Echo Arena Liverpool
Thursday 13 April
SSE Arena Belfast
Thursday 20 April
Birmingham Sheffield Aberdeen London
Barclaycard Arena
Thursday 27 April
Sheffield Arena
Thursday 4 May
GE Oil and Gas Arena
Thursday 11 May
The O2
Thursday 18 May

Players

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The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship final on 2 January 2017, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards – two chosen by Sky Sports and four by the PDC.

Previous PDC wildcards Robert Thornton and Michael Smith were dropped in favour of Jelle Klaasen and Kim Huybrechts. The 2017 edition marks the first time in which the six-time champion Phil Taylor appears as a wildcard entry, having finished outside the Order of Merit places. It is also the first Premier League without a player making his debut in the competition.

PlayerAppearance in
Premier League
Consecutive
Streak
Order of Merit
Rank
Previous best performanceQualification
Michael van Gerwen5th51Winner (2013, 2016)PDC Order of Merit
Gary Anderson7th72Winner (2011, 2015)PDC Order of Merit
Peter Wright4th435th (2014, 2016)PDC Order of Merit
Adrian Lewis10th84Runner-up (2011)PDC Order of Merit
James Wade9th35Winner (2009)PDC Wildcard
Phil Taylor13th136Winner (2005–2008, 2010, 2012)Sky Sports Wildcard
Dave Chisnall4th47Semi-finals (2015)PDC Wildcard
Jelle Klaasen2nd197th (2009)PDC Wildcard
Raymond van Barneveld12th1210Winner (2014)Sky Sports Wildcard
Kim Huybrechts2nd11310th (2015)PDC Wildcard

Prize money

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The prize-money was increased to £825,000 from £725,000 in 2016.[2]

StagePrize 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

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[3]

Play-offs – 18 May

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The O2 Arena, London

Score
[21]
Semi-finals (best of 19 legs)
Michael van Gerwen
102.22
10–7 Gary Anderson
102.68
Peter Wright
100.04
10–9 Phil Taylor
97.62
Final (best of 21 legs)
Michael van Gerwen
104.76
11–10 Peter Wright
101.06
Night's Total Average: 101.4
Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 160
Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 13
Night's 180s: 35

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. 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.

#NamePldWDLPtsLFLA+/-LWAT100+140+180sA[22]HCC%
1 Michael van Gerwen W1610422410270+323417415454104.9217040.54%
2 Peter Wright RU161033239868+30302031444698.8615638.89%
3 Phil Taylor16835199285+7322061333798.1514240.17%
4 Gary Anderson16745189179+123519212753102.1617039.91%
5 Dave Chisnall16646168287−5251661076599.7616039.47%
6 Raymond van Barneveld16628147989−10261861315898.6915637.09%
7 James Wade16538138295−13232781332895.2912137.36%
8 Adrian Lewis16619137690−14251971224696.8417036.89%
9 Jelle Klaasen911734258−1615120511992.3015234.71%
10 Kim Huybrechts903633760−231193702495.5814034.58%

Last updated: 12 May 2017
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.C = Champion

RU = Runner-up

Streaks

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PlayerPhase 1, Weeks 1 to 9Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15Play-offs
123456789101112131415SFF
Michael van GerwenDWWDDNPWWWLWWDWDWLWWW
Peter WrightWLWDWWWLW†DDLWWWWWL
Phil TaylorWDWDDLLWWWLWLLWWL
Gary AndersonDWLDDWLWWLDWLWWLL
Dave ChisnallLLWLWWLLDNPLDDWWDWDEliminated
Raymond van BarneveldWDLDLWWWWLWLLLLL
James WadeWDWDLLWLLLLWLWLD
Adrian LewisLWLDLWWWLWWLLLLL
Jelle KlaasenLLLWDLLLLEliminated
Kim HuybrechtsLDLDDLLLL†
Legend:WWinDDrawLLossDNPDid not playAwarded by forfeitEliminated

Positions by Week

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PlayerPhase 1, Weeks 1 to 9Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15
123456789101112131415
Michael van Gerwen521132211111111
Peter Wright274421122222222
Phil Taylor112214765453443
Gary Anderson635563644534334
Dave Chisnall101081057888887755
Raymond van Barneveld346676433345566
James Wade453345377778887
Adrian Lewis767788556666678
Jelle Klaasen9910910101099Eliminated
Kim Huybrechts88989991010

References

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  1. ^ "Premier League Darts: Michael Van Gerwen beats Peter Wright to win third title". BBC Sport. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Record Prize Money On Offer In 2017". PDC. 19 December 2016.
  3. ^ "2017 Betway Premier League Fixtures". PDC. 16 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Betway Premier League Night One". PDC. 2 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Two". PDC. 9 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Three". PDC. 16 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Four". PDC. 23 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Five". PDC. 2 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Injured Van Gerwen Misses Exeter". PDC. 1 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Six". PDC. 9 March 2017.
  11. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Seven". PDC. 16 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Eight". PDC. 23 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Nine". PDC. 30 March 2017.
  14. ^ "Huybrechts To Miss Cardiff Night". PDC. 30 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Betway Premier League Night Ten". PDC. 6 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Betway Premier League Night 11". PDC. 13 April 2017.
  17. ^ "Betway Premier League Night 12". PDC. 20 April 2017.
  18. ^ "Betway Premier League Night 13". PDC. 27 April 2017.
  19. ^ "Betway Premier League Night 14". PDC. 4 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Betway Premier League Night 15". PDC. 11 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Stunning Final-Leg Glory For Van Gerwen". PDC. 18 May 2017.
  22. ^ "2017 Premier League Stats: Tournament Average". Retrieved 2 February 2017.
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