2019 Premier League Darts
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| 2019 Unibet Premier League Darts | |||
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| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 7 February - 23 May 2019 | ||
| Champion(s) | |||
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The 2019 Unibet Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the fifteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 7 February at the Newcastle Arena in Newcastle and ended with the Play-offs at The O2 Arena in London on Thursday 23 May. It was also the last to feature Raymond van Barneveld, as he retired from professional darts after the following World Darts Championship, although he returned in 2022. He appeared a record 14 times in the competition.
Michael van Gerwen was the three-time defending champion after defeating Michael Smith 11–4 in the 2018 final. He won a fourth consecutive (and fifth overall) title by defeating Rob Cross 11–5 in the final.[1]
The tournament format was modified for this season.[2]
Phase 1: During the first nine nights, eight of the nine players play each other in four matches and the ninth player plays one match against one of the nine contenders. At the end of Phase 1, the bottom player is eliminated from the competition.
Phase 2: In the seven nights of weeks 9 to 15, each player plays the other seven players once. In a change from previous years, all players only play one match each night. Phase 2 matches have been increased to a maximum of fourteen legs, allowing for a 7-7 draw. In previous years, the maximum number of legs was twelve. At the end of Phase 2, the bottom four players in the league table are eliminated from the competition.
Play-off Night: The top four players in the league table contest the two knockout semi-finals with 1st playing 4th and 2nd playing 3rd. The semi-finals are first to 10 legs (best of 19). The two winning semi-finalists meet in the final which is first to 11 legs (best of 21).
Venues
| Newcastle Arena Thursday 7 February |
SSE Hydro Thursday 14 February |
3Arena Thursday 21 February |
Westpoint Exeter Thursday 28 February |
| AECC Arena Thursday 7 March |
Nottingham Arena Thursday 14 March |
Mercedes-Benz Arena Thursday 21 March |
Rotterdam Ahoy Wednesday 27 & Thursday 28 March |
| SSE Arena Belfast Thursday 4 April |
Liverpool Arena Thursday 11 April |
Cardiff International Arena Thursday 18 April |
Arena Birmingham Thursday 25 April |
| Manchester Arena Thursday 2 May |
Sheffield Arena Thursday 9 May |
Leeds Arena Thursday 16 May |
The O2 Thursday 23 May |
Players
The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship final on 1 January, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards.
Gary Anderson, who qualified as fourth on the Order of Merit, withdrew on 4 February, three days prior to the tournament beginning, with a back injury.[3]
| Player | Appearance in Premier League |
Consecutive Streak |
Order of Merit Rank |
Previous best performance | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7th | 7 | 1 | Winner (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) | PDC Order of Merit | |
| 2nd | 2 | 2 | Semi-final (2018) | PDC Order of Merit | |
| 6th | 6 | 3 | Runner-up (2017) | PDC Order of Merit | |
| 2nd | 2 | 5 | 5th (2018) | PDC Wildcard | |
| 3rd | 2 | 6 | Runner-up (2018) | PDC Wildcard | |
| 2nd | 2 | 7 | 10th (2018) | PDC Wildcard | |
| 10th | 1 | 10 | Winner (2009) | PDC Wildcard | |
| 2nd | 2 | 8 | 9th (2018) | Sky Sports Wildcard | |
| 14th | 14 | 28 | Winner (2014) | Sky Sports Wildcard |
Nine invited players were chosen to appear on each of the nine Phase 1 nights in the slots which were available as a result of Anderson's withdrawal. The nine main players could earn league points if they won or drew against the invited players. The invited players would not earn any points in the competition.[4]
| Player | Venue | Order of Merit Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | 35 | |
| Glasgow | 74 | |
| Dublin | 36 | |
| Exeter | 56 | |
| Aberdeen | 19 | |
| Nottingham | 34 | |
| Berlin | 30 | |
| Rotterdam (27 March) | 33 | |
| Rotterdam (28 March) | 43 |
Prize money
The prize money for the 2019 tournament was set to increase to £855,000 from £825,000 in 2018.[5] As the contenders picked up four draws between them it ended up being a total of £851,500.
| Stage | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | £250,000 | |
| Runner-up | £120,000 | |
| Semi-finalists (x2) | £80,000 | |
| 5th place | £70,000 | |
| 6th place | £60,000 | |
| 7th place | £55,000 | |
| 8th place | £50,000 | |
| 9th place | £35,000 | |
| 'Contenders' win (x0) | £5,000 | |
| 'Contenders' draw (x4) | £3,500 | |
| 'Contenders' lose (x5) | £2,500 | |
| League Winner Bonus | £25,000 | |
| Total | £825,000 | |
League stage
Players in italics are "Contenders", and will only play on that night. [6]
7 February – Week 1 (Phase 1)
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14 February – Week 2 (Phase 1)
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21 February – Week 3 (Phase 1)
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28 February – Week 4 (Phase 1)
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7 March – Week 5 (Phase 1)
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14 March – Week 6 (Phase 1)
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21 March – Week 7 (Phase 1)
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27 March – Week 8A (Phase 1)
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28 March – Week 8B (Phase 1)
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4 April – Week 9 (Phase 2)
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11 April – Week 10 (Phase 2)
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18 April – Week 11 (Phase 2)
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25 April – Week 12 (Phase 2)
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2 May – Week 13 (Phase 2)
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9 May – Week 14 (Phase 2)
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16 May – Week 15 (Phase 2)
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Play-offs – 23 May
| Score | ||
|---|---|---|
| Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) | ||
| Michael van Gerwen 96.48 | 10–7 | 94.02 |
| Rob Cross 100.31 | 10–5 | 91.91 |
| Final (best of 21 legs) | ||
| Michael van Gerwen 103.36 | 11–5 | 100.98 |
| Night's Total Average: 97.76 | ||
| Highest Checkout: | ||
| Most 180s: | ||
| Night's 180s: 21 | ||