# 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.
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.

## Format

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

In the only change from 2016, Brighton returned to the calendar, replacing Bournemouth.
| 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 O$_2$ Thursday 18 May |

## Players

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.
| Player | Appearance in Premier League | Consecutive Streak | Order of Merit Rank | Previous best performance | Qualification |
| Michael van Gerwen | 5th | 5 | 1 | Winner (2013, 2016) | PDC Order of Merit |
| Gary Anderson | 7th | 7 | 2 | Winner (2011, 2015) | PDC Order of Merit |
| Peter Wright | 4th | 4 | 3 | 5th (2014, 2016) | PDC Order of Merit |
| Adrian Lewis | 10th | 8 | 4 | Runner-up (2011) | PDC Order of Merit |
| James Wade | 9th | 3 | 5 | Winner (2009) | PDC Wildcard |
| Phil Taylor | 13th | 13 | 6 | Winner (2005–2008, 2010, 2012) | Sky Sports Wildcard |
| Dave Chisnall | 4th | 4 | 7 | Semi-finals (2015) | PDC Wildcard |
| Jelle Klaasen | 2nd | 1 | 9 | 7th (2009) | PDC Wildcard |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 12th | 12 | 10 | Winner (2014) | Sky Sports Wildcard |
| Kim Huybrechts | 2nd | 1 | 13 | 10th (2015) | PDC Wildcard |

## Prize money

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

11 May – Week 15 (Phase 2)
GE Oil and Gas Arena, Aberdeen
Score
Dave Chisnall 98.686–6 James Wade 96.29
Phil Taylor 99.097–5 Adrian Lewis 97.50
Peter Wright 97.277–1 Raymond van Barneveld 94.74
Michael van Gerwen 103.567–4 Gary Anderson 100.46
Night's Total Average: 98.45
Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 145
Most 180s: Dave Chisnall 7
Night's 180s: 27 :

## Play-offs – 18 May

The O2 Arena, London
| | Score | |
| 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
### Table

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.
| # | Name | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | LF | LA | +/- | LWAT | 100+ | 140+ | 180s | A | HC | C% |
| 1 | Michael van Gerwen W | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 102 | 70 | +32 | 34 | 174 | 154 | 54 | 104.92 | 170 | 40.54% |
| 2 | Peter Wright RU | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 98 | 68 | +30 | 30 | 203 | 144 | 46 | 98.86 | 156 | 38.89% |
| 3 | Phil Taylor | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 92 | 85 | +7 | 32 | 206 | 133 | 37 | 98.15 | 142 | 40.17% |
| 4 | Gary Anderson | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 91 | 79 | +12 | 35 | 192 | 127 | 53 | 102.16 | 170 | 39.91% |
| 5 | Dave Chisnall | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 82 | 87 | −5 | 25 | 166 | 107 | 65 | 99.76 | 160 | 39.47% |
| 6 | Raymond van Barneveld | 16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 79 | 89 | −10 | 26 | 186 | 131 | 58 | 98.69 | 156 | 37.09% |
| 7 | James Wade | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 82 | 95 | −13 | 23 | 278 | 133 | 28 | 95.29 | 121 | 37.36% |
| 8 | Adrian Lewis | 16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 76 | 90 | −14 | 25 | 197 | 122 | 46 | 96.84 | 170 | 36.89% |
| 9 | Jelle Klaasen | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 42 | 58 | −16 | 15 | 120 | 51 | 19 | 92.30 | 152 | 34.71% |
| 10 | Kim Huybrechts | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 60 | −23 | 11 | 93 | 70 | 24 | 95.58 | 140 | 34.58% |
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 = Average C% = Checkout percentage HC = High checkout. C = Champion

### Streaks

| Player | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | | Play-offs | Play-offs |
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | | SF | F |
| Michael van Gerwen | D | W | W | D | DNP | DNP | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | D | W | L | W | | W | W |
| Peter Wright | W | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | L | L | W† | D | D | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | | W | L |
| Phil Taylor | W | D | W | D | D | D | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | W | | L | — |
| Gary Anderson | D | W | L | D | D | D | W | L | W | W | W | L | L | D | W | L | L | W | W | W | L | | L | — |
| Dave Chisnall | L | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | DNP | DNP | L | D | D | D | D | W | W | D | D | W | D | | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Raymond van Barneveld | W | D | L | D | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| James Wade | W | D | W | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | D | | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Adrian Lewis | L | W | L | D | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Jelle Klaasen | L | L | L | W | D | D | L | L | L | L | L | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Kim Huybrechts | L | D | L | D | D | D | L | L | L | L | L† | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Legend: | W | Win | D | Draw | L | Loss | DNP | Did not play | † | Awarded by forfeit | — | Eliminated |

### Positions by Week

| Player | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 9 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 | Phase 2, Weeks 10 to 15 |
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Michael van Gerwen | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Peter Wright | 2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Phil Taylor | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Gary Anderson | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Dave Chisnall | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| James Wade | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Adrian Lewis | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Jelle Klaasen | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | Eliminated |
| Kim Huybrechts | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 |