The 2016 Champions League of Darts, also known as the Unibet Champions League of Darts for sponsorship purposes, was the inaugural staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. It took place from 24–25 September 2016 at the Cardiff International Arena, Wales. Phil Taylor won, defeating Michael van Gerwen 11–5 in the final.
Format The eight qualifying entrants were first split into two groups of four, playing each other once in best of 19-legged matches. The top two players in each group then proceeded to a knockout stage of two semi-finals and a final, all best of 21 legs.
Qualifiers Only the top eight players on the PDC Order of Merit on 12 August 2016 qualified for the tournament; they were: Michael van Gerwen (runner-up) Gary Anderson (semi-finals) Adrian Lewis (group stage) Phil Taylor (winner) Peter Wright (group stage) James Wade (semi-finals) Michael Smith (group stage) Robert Thornton (group stage)
Prize fund The prize money was distributed as follows: Stage (number of players) Prize money(Total: £250,000) Winner (1) £100,000 Runner-up (1) £50,000 Semi-finalists (2) £25,000 Third in group stage (2) £15,000 Fourth in group stage (2) £10,000
Results
Group stage
All matches first-to-10 (best of 19 legs)
NB: P = Played; W = Won; L = Lost; LF = Legs for; LA = Legs against; +/− = Plus/minus record, in relation to legs; Average = 3-dart average; Pts = Points; Q = Qualified for K.O. phase
Group A Pos.PlayerPWLLFLA+/–Pts 1 3 3 0 30 11 +19 6 2 3 2 1 24 20 +4 4 3 Peter Wright (5) 3 1 2 20 26 –6 2 4 Robert Thornton (8) 3 0 3 13 30 –17 0
24 September 102.66 (4) Phil Taylor 10 – 5 (5) Peter Wright 97.70 10 – 5 91.10
24 September 4 – 10 (4) Phil Taylor 107.49 94.30 (5) Peter Wright 10 – 6 (8) Robert Thornton 90.80
25 September 108.31 (4) Phil Taylor 10 – 2 (8) Robert Thornton 100.62 10 – 5 (5) Peter Wright 94.85
Group B Pos.PlayerPWLLFLAPts 1 3 3 0 30 18 +12 6 2 James Wade (6) 3 2 1 28 18 +10 4 3 Adrian Lewis (3) 3 1 2 18 28 –10 2 4 3 0 3 18 30 –12 0
24 September 96.86 (2) Gary Anderson 10 – 5 (7) Michael Smith 87.65 97.48 (3) Adrian Lewis 3 – 10 (6) James Wade 103.49
24 September 95.85 (3) Adrian Lewis 10 – 8 (7) Michael Smith 87.28 94.62 (2) Gary Anderson 10 – 8 (6) James Wade 90.66
25 September 103.03 (6) James Wade 10 – 5 (7) Michael Smith 95.30 91.18 (2) Gary Anderson 10 – 5 (3) Adrian Lewis 92.01
Knockout stage
Broadcasting In the United Kingdom, the event was televised by the BBC. The first group games were televised on BBC One; and, from the second group games onwards, BBC Two. Jason Mohammad presented coverage with Paul Nicholson, Mark Webster, and Alan Warriner-Little being the analysts. Vassos Alexander, Dan Dawson, Nicholson, and Warriner-Little were the match commentators.
References