2018 Premier League Darts
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| 2018 Unibet Premier League Darts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 1 February–17 May 2018 | ||
| Champion(s) | |||
 Michael van Gerwen (NED) | |||
| |||
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]
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
 Dublin |
 Cardiff |
 Newcastle |
 Berlin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3Arena Thursday 1 February |
Cardiff International Arena Thursday 8 February |
Newcastle Arena Thursday 15 February |
Mercedes-Benz Arena Thursday 22 February |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Exeter |
Leeds |
Nottingham |
 Glasgow |
| Westpoint Exeter Thursday 1 March (cancelled) |
Leeds Arena Thursday 8 March |
Nottingham Arena Thursday 15 March |
SSE Hydro Thursday 22 March |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Belfast |
Liverpool |
Sheffield |
Rotterdam |
| SSE Arena Belfast Thursday 29 March |
Liverpool Arena Thursday 5 April (Judgement Night) |
Sheffield Arena Thursday 12 April |
Rotterdam Ahoy Wednesday 18 & Thursday 19 April |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Manchester |
Birmingham |
Aberdeen |
London |
| Manchester Arena Thursday 26 April |
Arena Birmingham Thursday 3 May |
AECC Arena Thursday 10 May |
The O2 Thursday 17 May |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Players
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
Play-offs – 17 May
The O2 Arena, London
| Score | ||
|---|---|---|
| [23] | ||
| Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) | ||
| Michael van Gerwen 103.65 | 10–6 | Rob Cross 96.04 |
| Michael Smith 97.49 | 10–6 | Gary Anderson 95.35 |
| Final (best of 21 legs) | ||
| Michael van Gerwen 112.37 | 11–4 | Michael Smith 97.01 |
| Night's Total Average: 100.32 | ||
| Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 128 | ||
| Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 16 | ||
| Night's 180s: 40 | ||