Championship League Darts is a tournament that uses a league and legs format similar to the Premier League but offers the top players outside of the top 8 in the PDC Order of Merit a chance to compete for the championship. It is the first ever darts tournament to be solely broadcast on and funded by Internet distribution. There are 8 qualifying days, culminating in a ninth which is the finals day. On the first qualifying day, the top 8 players in the PDC OoM will compete in a round robin and play each other player in the best of 11 legs; it had previously used 12 legs where draws could be a feature. After all games have been played the top 4 play each other again to a winner, the winner is then the 1st qualifier and goes to the final on day 9. The bottom 2 drop out of the league, and all the others come back the next day to play again. The next 3 in the OoM then also join these to make 8 players and so on. On the 9th day (Finals Day) all of the 8 qualifiers 1-8 again play a Round Robin same as the rest of the event to a winner. The tournament was first announced on the official PDC website in mid-April under the name ‘Championship of Darts’. It takes place throughout September and October and features a field of 29 – 33 players. The inaugural championship – the 2008 Championship League Darts – was held at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex and featured a prize fund of £189,000 and a place in the Grand Slam of Darts for the winner. Phil Taylor won the inaugural championship, but was beaten in the next 2 finals in 2009 Colin Osborne & 2010 James Wade. But regained his title in 2011 with a 6-1 demolition of Paul Nicholson. There have been five 9 Darters in the event, Phil Taylor in 2009 & 2011, Adrian Lewis in 2008, Jelle Klassen in 2009 and Simon Whitlock in 2011. Phil Taylor holds the record of the highest average in the event in his 2011 match against Mervyn King with 120.64 in a 6-3 win which also included a 9 darter.
THE groups for the 2012 Championship League Darts have been confirmed, with the £200,000 internet-streamed tournament beginning on Tuesday September 25 with the first of nine days’ action. Championship League Darts sees eight eight-player groups face off in a league format at Crondon Park GC in Essex, with the eight Group Winners then playing off for the £10,000 first prize and places in the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts. The tournament is streamed exclusively online through LIVEPDC.TV and a series of bookmakers’ websites. Each day’s play sees the players face each other once over the best of 11 legs before the top four from the final league table progress to the Play-Offs, where they contest the semi-finals and final. The champion progresses to the Winners Group, while the bottom two players in the league table are eliminated, with the next three players from the PDC Order of Merit then coming in for the next day’s group. Prize money is paid at £50 per leg on in the league phase, with £100 per leg won in the Play-Offs, with the prize money doubled for the big-money Winners Group on Thursday November 1, where a further £20,000 is paid out to the winner, runner-up and semi-finalists. Places in the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts are also on offer for the eventual winner and runner-up, with a total achievable prize fund in the event of over £200,000 making Championship League Darts one of the richest tournaments in the sport. The groups are based on rankings in the PDC Order of Merit as at September 17 2012, meaning that the world’s top eight players – including reigning champion Phil Taylor, 2010 winner James Wade and World Champion Adrian Lewis will contest in Group One on Tuesday September 25. Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld has declined his invitation to compete, meaning that Kevin Painter joins Mark Webster and debutant Justin Pipe will be the three players who enter for Group Two. Another debutant, Dave Chisnall, will come in for Group Three alongside Ronnie Baxter and Mark Walsh, with Paul Nicholson, Vincent van der Voort and Mervyn King – a former finalist – entering in Group Four. Andy Smith, Colin Lloyd and Robert Thornton will come in for Group Five, Wayne Jones, Jamie Caven and John Part enter in Group Six and two players will make their Championship League Darts debuts in Group Seven, with Michael van Gerwen and Brendan Dolan joining 2009 champion Colin Osborne in entering. Richie Burnett, Denis Ovens and Peter Wright will then come in for Group Eight, which will be held on Wednesday October 31 to precede the Winners Group on November 1.
Year
Winner
Score
Runner-Up
Prize Fund
2008
Phil Taylor
7-5
Mervyn King
£189,000
2009
Colin Osborne
6-4
Phil Taylor
£189,000
2010
James Wade
6-5
Phil Taylor
£189,000
2011
Phil Taylor
6-1
Paul Nicholson
£200,000
2012
Group 2 – Sept 26:
Mark Webster-Justin Pipe-Kevin Painter
Winner: Justin Pipe
Relegated: Mark Webster – Kevin Painter
To return for CLD Group 3: Phil Taylor-Simon Whitlock-Adrian Lewis-Gary Anderson-Terry Jenkins
Group 3 – Sept 27:
Dave Chisnall-Ronnie Baxter-Mark Walsh
Winner: Ronnie Baxter
Relegated: Adrian Lewis – Gary Anderson
To return for CLD Group 4: Phil Taylor-Simon Whitlock-Terry Jenkins-Dave Chisnall-Mark Walsh
Group Four – Tuesday October 16
Paul Nicholson-Mervyn King-Andy Smith
Winner: Phil Taylor
Relegated: Andy Smith – Mervyn King
To return for CLD Group 5: Simon Whitlock-Terry Jenkins-Dave Chisnall-Mark Walsh-Paul Nicholson
Group Five – Wednesday October 17
Colin Lloyd-Robert Thornton-Wayne Jones
Winner: Simon Whitlock
Relegated: Colin Lloyd – Wayne Jones
To return for CLD Group 6: Robert Thornton-Dave Chisnall-Mark Walsh-Terry Jenkins-Paul Nicholson
Group Six – Thursday October 18
Jamie Caven-John Part-Colin Osborne
Winner: Dave Chisnall
Relegated: John Part – Terry Jenkins
To return for CLD Group 7: Robert Thornton-Mark Walsh-Paul Nicholson-Jamie Caven-Colin Osborne
Group Seven – Tuesday October 30
3 New Players Michael van Gerwen-Brendan Dolan-Richie Burnett
Returning for CLD Group 7: Robert Thornton-Mark Walsh-Paul Nicholson-Jamie Caven-Colin Osborne
Winner: Jamie Caven
Relegated: Richie Burnett – Colin Osborne
To return for CLD Group 8: Michael van Gerwen – Paul Nicholson – Mark Walsh – Robert Thornton - Brendan Dolan
Group Eight – Wednesday October 31
3 New Players Denis Ovens-Peter Wright-Steve Beaton
Returning for CLD Group 8: Michael van Gerwen – Paul Nicholson – Mark Walsh – Robert Thornton – Brendan Dolan
Winner: Mark Walsh
Winners Group – Thursday November 1:
1-Wesley Newton
2-Justin Pipe
3-Ronnie Baxter
4-Phil Taylor
5-Simon Whitlock
6-Dave Chisnall
7-Jamie Caven
8-Mark Walsh