2008 Championship League Darts

The 2008 Championship League Darts is the inaugural edition of a darts competition – the Championship League Darts.PDC announce Championship League Darts The competition is organised and held by the Professional Darts Corporation and has a maximum prize fund of £189,000.

The format of the tournament is similar to the Premier League Darts tournament, also organised by the PDC, except it is contested by a larger pool of players who are split up into a number of groups.

In a first for darts the tournament will be shown in its entirety on the internet. Every match can be watched in the UK on the Ladbrokes and bet365 websites. The tournament will also be available globally through the internet, except in the United States of America where it can't be shown for legal reasons.

Format

The first group will consist of the top 8 players from the PDC Order of Merit who are available for the competition. These 8 players will play each other over the course of a day and receive points for their performance. A win will earn a player two points, whilst a draw will earn them 1 point. All matches will be contested over 10 legs with a player winning the match when the reach 6 legs or the match being declared a draw should the score reach 5–5. When all players have played each other, the four players with the most points will progress to the semi-finals with the winners of those matches progressing into the final.

The winner of the final will progress to the winners group which shall take place at the end of the competition. The runner-up, losing semi-finalists and the players finishing fifth and sixth will move into group two, where they will be joined by the next three players in the Order of Merit. The format of the second group will be the same as the first group with players moving into the third group. In total there will be 8 groups before the final group takes place.

This format ensures that all players who don't win the group or finish in the last two positions will have another chance to qualify for the winners group.

Qualification Players must have been in top 29 places in PDC Order of Merit following 2008 World Matchplay Darts in order to qualify. 31 places used because of Raymond Van Barneveld and John Part withdrawing.

PDC Order of Merit following 2008 World Matchplay Darts.

1. Phil Taylor | 2. Raymond van Barneveld | 3. James Wade | 4. John Part | 5. Terry Jenkins | 6. Wayne Mardle | 7. Adrian Lewis | 8. Andy Hamilton | 9. Colin Lloyd | 10. Roland Scholten | 11. Dennis Priestley | 12. Peter Manley | 13. Alan Tabern | 14. Ronnie Baxter | 15. Colin Osborne | 16. Kevin Painter | 17. Mervyn King | 18. Denis Ovens | 19. Mark Dudbridge | 20. Vincent van der Voort | 21. Chris Mason | 22. Kirk Shepherd | 23. Andy Jenkins | 24. Barrie Bates | 25. Andy Smith | 26. Mark Walsh | 27. Adrian Gray | 28. Wayne Jones | 29. Mick McGowan | 30. Alex Roy | 31. Wes Newton

Player omissions and delays

Raymond van Barneveld, who is taking a two-month sabbatical from darts, and John Part, based in Canada, will not be competing in the tournament. Adrian Lewis will also enter in group 3, not group 1 as his ranking would suggest, because he has been suspended from playing in any PDC tournaments for two months following an altercation with Kevin Painter. Peter Manley is also entering the competition later than his ranking would suggest, for unknown reasons.

On 1 September it was announced that Dennis Priestley had withdrawn from group 2 due to his ongoing treatment for prostate cancer. As such he has been replaced in group 2 by Mervyn King. Subsequent group line-ups have also changed, with players from later groups being brought into earlier ones. Priestley hopes to return in time for group 7.

Prize money

The prize money for the tournament is a unique concept with players winning a set amount of money for each leg that they win.

Groups 1 – 8

In groups 1 – 8 the prize money will be as follows:

Group Matches – £50 per leg won Play-off Matches – £100 per leg won

Winners Group

In the winners group the prize money will be as follows:

Group Matches – £100 per leg won Play-off Matches – £200 per leg won

In addition the winners group will have separate prizes for the winner, runner-up and losing semi-finalists. These prizes will breakdown as follows:

Winner – £10,000 and a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts Runner-up – £5,000 Losing Semi-finalists – £2,500 each

Prize money won

The following table shows the amount of prize money that has been won by each player.

Player Group Legs won Play-Off Legs won Winners Group Legs won Winners Play-Off Legs won Final position money won* Total money won Phil Taylor41134113£10,000£20,050 Mervyn King72183111£5,000£15,700 Mark Walsh11125385£2,500£15,350 Adrian Lewis21943000£15,250 Andy Hamilton137213000£11,950 Alan Tabern7018334£2,500£11,900 Mark Dudbridge142162700£10,900 Colin Osborne104143000£9,600 Vincent van der Voort102222100£9,400 Kevin Painter9612000£6,000 Andy Smith923000£4,900 James Wade950000£4,750 Peter Manley882000£4,600 Wayne Mardle840000£4,200 Dennis Priestley6310000£4,150 Wayne Jones654000£3,650 Barrie Bates653000£3,550 Colin Lloyd576000£3,450 Denis Ovens454000£2,650 Kirk Shepherd510000£2,550 Chris Mason290000£1,450 Ronnie Baxter280000£1,400 Alex Roy280000£1,400 Wes Newton270000£1,350 Mick McGowan240000£1,200 Adrian Gray220000£1,100 Terry Jenkins190000£950 Andy Jenkins180000£900 Roland Scholten180000£900

*Final position money is awarded to the semi-finalists of the winners group (£2,500), the runner-up, (£5,000), and the overall winner (£10,000).

Tournament Dates

The tournament will take place over 9 days throughout September and October 2008. One group will be played on each day. The dates are as follows:

Group 1 – Tuesday 2 September 2008 Group 2 – Wednesday 3 September 2008 Group 3 – Monday 22 September 2008 Group 4 – Tuesday 23 September 2008 Group 5 – Wednesday 24 September 2008 Group 6 – Thursday 25 September 2008 Group 7 – Tuesday 21 October 2008 Group 8 – Wednesday 22 October 2008 Winners Group – Thursday 23 October 2008

The tournament will take place at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex.

Groups

The groups are as follows:

Note: Bold indicates group winner, italics indicate the eliminated players. In groups 1–7, players are eliminated for finishing in the bottom two of the league, in group 8 and the Winners Group players are eliminated for failing to win outright.

Group 1

Phil Taylor James Wade Terry Jenkins Wayne Mardle Andy Hamilton Colin Lloyd Roland Scholten Alan TabernGroup 2

Colin Lloyd Andy Hamilton Alan Tabern James Wade Wayne Mardle Ronnie Baxter Kevin Painter Mervyn KingGroup 3

Kevin Painter Andy Hamilton Mervyn King James Wade Wayne Mardle Adrian Lewis Colin Osborne Denis OvensGroup 4

Adrian Lewis Colin Osborne Denis Ovens Kevin Painter Andy Hamilton Peter Manley Vincent van der Voort Mark Dudbridge

Group 5

Vincent van der Voort Adrian Lewis Mark Dudbridge Colin Osborne Peter Manley Andy Jenkins Chris Mason Kirk ShepherdGroup 6

Adrian Lewis Mark Dudbridge Peter Manley Vincent van der Voort Kirk Shepherd Mark Walsh Barrie Bates Andy SmithGroup 7

Mark Walsh Adrian Lewis Barrie Bates Andy Smith Mark Dudbridge Dennis Priestley Adrian Gray Wayne JonesGroup 8

Adrian Lewis Mark Walsh Andy Smith Wayne Jones Dennis Priestley Mick McGowan Alex Roy Wes Newton

Winners Group

Phil Taylor Alan Tabern Mervyn King Andy Hamilton Colin Osborne Vincent van der Voort Mark Dudbridge Mark Walsh

Results

Group One

Played Tuesday 2 September, results as follows:PDC website report – Taylor Wins Championship League Darts Opener from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 03-09-2008

League stages

Phil Taylor 5–5 James Wade Alan Tabern 6–2 Roland Scholten Colin Lloyd 6–0 Andy Hamilton Wayne Mardle 6–2 Terry Jenkins Phil Taylor 6–4 Alan Tabern Colin Lloyd 6–4 Terry Jenkins Andy Hamilton 6–3 Wayne Mardle James Wade 5–5 Roland Scholten Alan Tabern 6–2 Terry JenkinsPhil Taylor 6–2 Colin Lloyd Wayne Mardle 6–3 Roland Scholten James Wade 5–5 Andy Hamilton Phil Taylor 6–1 Terry Jenkins Alan Tabern 5–5 Colin Lloyd James Wade 5–5 Wayne Mardle Andy Hamilton 6–3 Roland Scholten Terry Jenkins 6–1 Roland Scholten Phil Taylor 6–1 Andy HamiltonColin Lloyd 5–5 James Wade Wayne Mardle 6–3 Alan Tabern Andy Hamilton 5–5 Alan Tabern James Wade 6–1 Terry Jenkins Colin Lloyd 6–4 Roland Scholten Phil Taylor 6–1 Wayne Mardle Phil Taylor 6–0 Roland Scholten Andy Hamilton 6–3 Terry Jenkins Colin Lloyd 6–4 Wayne Mardle Alan Tabern 6–3 James Wade

Final league table

PosNamePWDL+/-Pts 1 Phil Taylor 7 6 1 0 +27 13 2 Colin Lloyd 7 4 2 1 +8 10 3 Alan Tabern 7 3 2 2 +6 8 4 Andy Hamilton 7 3 2 2 −2 8 5 James Wade 7 1 5 1 +2 7 6 Wayne Mardle 7 3 1 3 0 7 7 Terry Jenkins 7 1 0 6 −18 2 8 Roland Scholten 7 0 1 6 −23 1

NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied. Green – Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold – Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red – Out of the tournament

Semi-finals

Phil Taylor 6–3 Andy Hamilton

Colin Lloyd 6–5 Alan Tabern

Final

Phil Taylor 7–0 Colin Lloyd

Group Two

Played Wednesday 3 September, results as follows:PDC website report – Tabern Wins Championship League Darts Group Two from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 03-09-2008

League stages

James Wade 6–4 Wayne Mardle Kevin Painter 5–5 Mervyn King Alan Tabern 6–4 Ronnie Baxter Andy Hamilton 6–4 Colin Lloyd Mervyn King 6–4 James Wade Andy Hamilton 6–2 Ronnie Baxter Colin Lloyd 5–5 Alan Tabern Wayne Mardle 5–5 Kevin Painter Mervyn King 5–5 Andy HamiltonRonnie Baxter 6–3 James Wade Kevin Painter 6–3 Colin Lloyd Wayne Mardle 6–4 Alan Tabern Andy Hamilton 6–4 James Wade Mervyn King 6–4 Ronnie Baxter Colin Lloyd 6–0 Wayne Mardle Kevin Painter 6–4 Alan Tabern Kevin Painter 5–5 Andy Hamilton Alan Tabern 5–5 James WadeWayne Mardle 6–2 Ronnie Baxter Mervyn King 6–3 Colin Lloyd Alan Tabern 6–4 Mervyn King Andy Hamilton 6–3 Wayne Mardle Kevin Painter 6–4 Ronnie Baxter James Wade 6–0 Colin Lloyd Kevin Painter 5–5 James Wade Andy Hamilton 5–5 Alan Tabern Ronnie Baxter 6–0 Colin Lloyd Mervyn King 6–4 Wayne Mardle

Final league table

PosNamePWDL+/-Pts 1 Andy Hamilton 7 4 3 0 +11 11 2 Mervyn King 7 4 2 1 +7 10 3 Kevin Painter 7 3 4 0 +7 10 4 Alan Tabern 7 2 3 2 0 7 5 James Wade 7 2 2 3 +1 6 6 Wayne Mardle 7 2 1 4 −8 5 7 Ronnie Baxter 7 2 0 5 −5 4 8 Colin Lloyd 7 1 1 5 −14 3

NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied. Green – Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold – Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red – Out of the tournament

Semi-finals

Alan Tabern 6–5 Andy Hamilton

Kevin Painter 6–5 Mervyn King

Final

Alan Tabern 7–6 Kevin Painter

Group Three

Played Monday 22 September, results as follows:PDC website report – King Reigns Supreme In Group Three from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 22-09-2008

League stages

James Wade 5–5 Wayne Mardle Mervyn King 5–5 Denis Ovens Colin Osborne 6–3 Kevin Painter Adrian Lewis 6–2 Andy Hamilton James Wade 6–2 Denis Ovens Kevin Painter 6–4 Adrian Lewis Andy Hamilton 5–5 Colin Osborne Wayne Mardle 5–5 Mervyn King Adrian Lewis 6–1 Denis OvensKevin Painter 6–3 James Wade Mervyn King 6–4 Andy Hamilton Colin Osborne 6–4 Wayne Mardle Adrian Lewis* 6–2 James Wade Denis Ovens 6–4 Kevin Painter Andy Hamilton 6–4 Wayne Mardle Colin Osborne 6–1 Mervyn King Mervyn King 6–4 Adrian Lewis Colin Osborne 6–2 James WadeKevin Painter 6–1 Wayne Mardle Denis Ovens 6–3 Andy Hamilton Denis Ovens 6–3 Colin Osborne Wayne Mardle 5–5 Adrian Lewis Mervyn King 6–1 Kevin Painter James Wade 5–5 Andy Hamilton Mervyn King 5–5 James Wade Adrian Lewis 6–4 Colin Osborne Andy Hamilton 6–4 Kevin Painter Denis Ovens 6–1 Wayne Mardle

*Adrian Lewis hit a nine dart finish

Final league table