2010 Premier League Darts

The 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the sixth such running of the tournament.

2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Winner
Phil Taylor
Runner-up
James Wade
Score
10–8
Dates
11 February–24 May 2010
Edition
6th
Number of players
8
Venues
15
Nine-dart finish
Raymond van Barneveld Phil Taylor (x2)
Premier League Darts
< 2009 | 2010 | 2011 >

The tournament began at The O2 Arena in London on 11 February, and finished at the Wembley Arena on 24 May.

Phil Taylor won in the final 10–8 against defending champion James Wade, where he also became the first player to hit two nine-dart finishes in a single match.

Qualification

The top six players from the PDC Order of Merit following the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship were confirmed on 5 January. Simon Whitlock and Adrian Lewis were named as the two Sky Sports wild card selections; Whitlock being announced on 4 January^[1] and Lewis on 13 January.^[2]

Player	Appearance in Premier League	Consecutive Streak	Previous best performance	Order of Merit Ranking
Phil Taylor	6th	6	Winner (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)	1
Raymond van Barneveld	5th	5	Semi-Finals (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)	2
James Wade	3rd	3	Winner (2009)	3
Terry Jenkins	4th	4	Runner-up (2007)	4
Mervyn King	2nd	2	Runner-up (2009)	5
Ronnie Baxter	2nd	1 (Last: 2006)	5th place (2006)	6
Simon Whitlock WC	1st	1	Debut	17
Adrian Lewis WC	3rd	1 (Last: 2008)	Semi-finals (2008)	7

WC = Wild Card

Venues

Fifteen venues were used for the 2010 Premier League, with the only change from 2009 being Bournemouth replacing Edinburgh after a one-year absence.

Glasgow

Bournemouth

Manchester

Exeter

Nottingham

Sheffield

Brighton

Birmingham

Aberdeen

Liverpool

London

Belfast

Newcastle

Cardiff

Locations of the 2010 Premier League venues in the United Kingdom.

London	Bournemouth	Belfast	Exeter	Manchester
The O2 Arena 11 February	Bournemouth International Centre 18 February	Odyssey Arena 25 February	Westpoint Arena 4 March	MEN Arena 11 March
Brighton	Birmingham	Cardiff	Glasgow	Sheffield
Brighton Centre 18 March	National Indoor Arena 25 March	Cardiff International Arena 1 April	SECC 8 April	Sheffield Arena 15 April
Liverpool	Aberdeen	Newcastle upon Tyne	Nottingham	London
Echo Arena 22 April	AECC 29 April	Metro Radio Arena 6 May	Trent FM Arena 13 May	Wembley Arena 24 May

Prize money

The prize money increased again with the total prize fund rising to £410,000, as a third place play-off was introduced, earning the winner of that an extra £10,000 to their £40,000 for reaching the play-offs.^[3][4]

Stage	Prize Money
Winner	£125,000
Runner-up	£65,000
3rd place	£50,000
4th place	£40,000
5th place	£32,500
6th place	£30,000
7th place	£27,500
8th place	£25,000
High Checkout (per night)	£1,000
Total	£410,000

Results

League stage

^[5]

11 February – week 1 The O2 Arena, London Player Legs Player [6] Ronnie Baxter 93.80 7–7 Terry Jenkins 91.31 Mervyn King 101.39 8 – 5 Adrian Lewis 96.20 Raymond van Barneveld 92.28 8 – 5 James Wade 90.44 Simon Whitlock 84.20 3 – 8 Phil Taylor 94.29 High Checkout: Mervyn King 124

18 February – week 2 Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth Player Legs Player [7] Adrian Lewis 105.14 8 – 3 Raymond van Barneveld 99.35 Terry Jenkins 100.26 7–7 Simon Whitlock 96.37 Phil Taylor 99.67 8 – 6 Ronnie Baxter 96.01 James Wade 89.83 4 – 8 Mervyn King 91.26 High Checkout: Adrian Lewis 121

25 February – week 3 Odyssey Arena, Belfast Player Legs Player [8] Mervyn King 97.89 6 – 8 Ronnie Baxter 97.11 Adrian Lewis 95.90 6 – 8 Terry Jenkins 92.11 Simon Whitlock 95.56 8 – 5 Raymond van Barneveld 92.32 Phil Taylor 104.44 8 – 2 James Wade 96.96 High Checkout: Ronnie Baxter 164

4 March – Week 4 Westpoint Arena, Exeter Player Legs Player [9] James Wade 98.41 7–7 Adrian Lewis 102.98 Ronnie Baxter 97.51 8 – 6 Simon Whitlock 92.34 Mervyn King 98.74 8 – 5 Terry Jenkins 94.61 Phil Taylor 97.87 8 – 2 Raymond van Barneveld 89.85 High Checkout: James Wade 148

11 March – Week 5 MEN Arena, Manchester Player Legs Player [10] James Wade 101.42 7–7 Ronnie Baxter 103.86 Phil Taylor 100.98 7–7 Mervyn King 99.45 Terry Jenkins 98.00 4 – 8 Raymond van Barneveld 106.92 Adrian Lewis 83.64 4 – 8 Simon Whitlock 82.89 High Checkout: Phil Taylor 161

18 March – Week 6 Brighton Centre, Brighton Player Legs Player [11] Phil Taylor 106.79 8 – 3 Terry Jenkins 98.40 Raymond van Barneveld 93.87 7–7 Mervyn King 92.99 Ronnie Baxter 102.52 6 – 8 Adrian Lewis 101.02 Simon Whitlock 91.13 4 – 8 James Wade 97.73 High Checkout: Simon Whitlock 170

25 March – Week 7 National Indoor Arena, Birmingham Player Legs Player [12] Mervyn King 97.70 6 – 8 Simon Whitlock 102.18 James Wade 95.73 8 – 5 Terry Jenkins 89.47 Raymond van Barneveld 96.09 4 – 8 Ronnie Baxter 94.89 Adrian Lewis 97.89 4 – 8 Phil Taylor 105.25 High Checkout: Ronnie Baxter 164

1 April – Week 8 Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff Player Legs Player [13] Terry Jenkins 90.24 2 – 8 Mervyn King 95.08 Simon Whitlock 91.43 5 – 8 Ronnie Baxter 94.10 Adrian Lewis 99.62 8 – 5 James Wade 95.66 Phil Taylor 97.64 8 – 2 Raymond van Barneveld 90.73 High Checkout: Ronnie Baxter 124

8 April – Week 9 SECC, Glasgow Player Legs Player [14] Raymond van Barneveld 94.67 6 – 8 Adrian Lewis 101.64 Simon Whitlock 95.77 8 – 3 Terry Jenkins 88.80 Ronnie Baxter 87.13 4 – 8 Phil Taylor 94.14 Mervyn King 94.96 4 – 8 James Wade 99.64 High Checkout: Mervyn King 161

15 April – week 10 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield Player Legs Player [15] Terry Jenkins 93.33 8 – 5 Adrian Lewis 91.88 Ronnie Baxter 95.36 7–7 Mervyn King 94.15 James Wade 100.51 7–7 Phil Taylor 98.92 Raymond van Barneveld 99.85 6 – 8 Simon Whitlock 99.52 High Checkout: Simon Whitlock 154

22 April – week 11 Echo Arena, Liverpool Player Legs Player [16] Terry Jenkins 98.03 8 – 4 Ronnie Baxter 95.23 James Wade 100.28 8 – 3 Raymond van Barneveld 95.96 Adrian Lewis 89.04 3 – 8 Mervyn King 93.71 Phil Taylor 103.62 8 – 5 Simon Whitlock 102.33 High Checkout: Phil Taylor 125

29 April – week 12 AECC, Aberdeen Player Legs Player [17] Ronnie Baxter 87.79 7–7 James Wade 93.08 Mervyn King 89.98 1 – 8 Phil Taylor 100.44 Raymond van Barneveld 98.43 8 – 6 Terry Jenkins 92.79 Simon Whitlock 97.65 7–7 Adrian Lewis 99.54 High Checkout: Terry Jenkins 146 Nine-dart finish The Premier League's second nine-dart finish occurred, when Raymond van Barneveld hit one during the second leg of his match against Terry Jenkins, checking out with T20, T19 and D12. Barneveld had also hit the first Premier League nine-dart finish in 2006 against Peter Manley.

6 May – week 13 Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne Player Legs Player [18] Adrian Lewis 86.71 7–7 Ronnie Baxter 88.84 Mervyn King 81.27 5 – 8 Raymond van Barneveld 97.43 James Wade 98.07 4 – 8 Simon Whitlock 97.84 Terry Jenkins 88.91 5 – 8 Phil Taylor 100.23 High Checkout: Mervyn King 130

13 May – week 14 Trent FM Arena, Nottingham Player Legs Player [19] Terry Jenkins 97.78 5 – 8 James Wade 95.79 Ronnie Baxter 97.97 2 – 8 Raymond van Barneveld 95.05 Simon Whitlock 104.60 8 – 2 Mervyn King 90.26 Phil Taylor 98.70 8 – 1 Adrian Lewis 93.61 High Checkout: Simon Whitlock 130

Play-offs – 24 May

Wembley Arena, London

	Score
[20]
Semi-finals (best of 15 legs)
Simon Whitlock 92.69	6 – 8	James Wade 95.48
Phil Taylor 107.98	8 – 1	Mervyn King 90.20
Third place play-off (best of 15 legs)
Simon Whitlock 96.13	7 – 8	Mervyn King 94.51
Final (best of 19 legs)
James Wade 100.08	8 – 10	Phil Taylor 111.67
High Checkout: Phil Taylor 164 (Semi-Final)

• The play-offs were originally scheduled for 23 May, but due to a power cut in the area surrounding the Wembley Arena, they were postponed until 24 May.^[21]

Nine-dart finishes

The finals night saw the second and third nine-dart finishes of the 2010 Premier League Darts, and the third and fourth in Premier League Darts overall, in the final between Phil Taylor and James Wade.

Trailing 1–0 after losing the throw in the first leg, Taylor responded with a 174 (T20, 2 T19s), 180 (3 T20s), and 147 (T20, T17, D18) to take the second leg against throw. This was Taylor's first nine-dart finish in the Premier League, having only been achieved previously by Raymond van Barneveld. This was also the first nine-dart finish in a televised final.

In the 15th leg he hit the second nine-dart finish of the night with two 180s and checked out on 141 (T20, T19, D12). This was the first time that the same player achieved two nine-dart finishes in one match. After the second nine-darter, Taylor made it 17 consecutive perfect darts, needing only T17 D18 for a third nine-darter and second on the trot, he missed the T17 by an inch, but still went on to win that leg in 10 darts, after then hitting T18, then returning to hit the D8 with his first dart.

Table and streaks

Table

Pos	Name	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	LF	LA	+/-	LWAT	100+	140+	180s	A	HC
1	Phil Taylor W	14	12	2	0	26	110	52	+58	46	192	145	46	100.21	164
2	Simon Whitlock	14	7	2	5	16	93	84	+9	38	202	124	47	95.27	170
3	James Wade RU	14	5	4	5	14	88	89	−1	29	230	123	52	96.68	148
4	Mervyn King	14	5	3	6	13	85	88	−3	34	197	134	44	94.20	161
5	Ronnie Baxter	14	4	5	5	13	89	96	−7	36	249	138	33	95.15	164
6	Raymond van Barneveld	14	5	1	8	11	78	93	−15	30	219	107	44	95.91	141
7	Adrian Lewis	14	4	3	7	11	81	97	−16	28	212	127	56	96.06	140
8	Terry Jenkins	14	3	2	9	8	76	101	−25	26	255	138	39	93.86	146

Top four qualified for Play-offs after Week 14.
NB: LWAT = Legs Won Against Throw. Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.

Streaks

Player	Week														Play-offs
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	SF	F
Phil Taylor	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W
Simon Whitlock	L	D	W	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	L	D	W	W	L
James Wade	L	L	L	D	D	W	W	L	W	D	W	D	L	W	W	L
Mervyn King	W	W	L	W	D	D	L	W	L	D	W	L	L	L	L
Ronnie Baxter	D	L	W	W	D	L	W	W	L	D	L	D	D	L
Raymond van Barneveld	W	L	L	L	W	D	L	L	L	L	L	W	W	W
Adrian Lewis	L	W	L	D	L	W	L	W	W	L	L	D	D	L
Terry Jenkins	D	D	W	L	L	L	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	L

NB: W = Won D = Drawn L = Lost

Player statistics

The following statistics are for the league stage only. Playoffs are not included.

Phil Taylor

• Longest unbeaten run: 14
• Most consecutive wins: 4
• Most consecutive draws: 1
• Most consecutive losses: 0
• Longest without a win: 1
• Biggest victory: 8-1 (v. Adrian Lewis)
• Biggest defeat: Player Undefeated

Simon Whitlock

• Longest unbeaten run: 3
• Most consecutive wins: 2
• Most consecutive draws: 1
• Most consecutive losses: 1
• Longest without a win: 2
• Biggest victory: 8-2 (v. Mervyn King)
• Biggest defeat: 3-8 (v. Phil Taylor)

James Wade

• Longest unbeaten run: 4
• Most consecutive wins: 2
• Most consecutive draws: 2
• Most consecutive losses: 3
• Longest without a win: 5
• Biggest victory: 8-3 (v. Raymond van Barneveld)
• Biggest defeat: 2-8 (v. Phil Taylor)

Mervyn King

• Longest unbeaten run: 3
• Most consecutive wins: 2
• Most consecutive draws: 2
• Most consecutive losses: 3
• Longest without a win: 3
• Biggest victory: 8-2 (v. Terry Jenkins)
• Biggest defeat: 1-8 (v. Phil Taylor)

Ronnie Baxter

• Longest unbeaten run: 3
• Most consecutive wins: 2
• Most consecutive draws: 2
• Most consecutive losses: 1
• Longest without a win: 6
• Biggest victory: 8-4 (v. Raymond van Barneveld)
• Biggest defeat: 2-8 (v. Raymond van Barneveld)

Raymond van Barneveld

• Longest unbeaten run: 2
• Most consecutive wins: 2
• Most consecutive draws: 1
• Most consecutive losses: 5
• Longest without a win: 6
• Biggest victory: 8-2 (v. Ronnie Baxter)
• Biggest defeat: 2-8 (v. Phil Taylor (twice))

Adrian Lewis

• Longest unbeaten run: 2
• Most consecutive wins: 2
• Most consecutive draws: 2
• Most consecutive losses:2
• Longest without a win: 5
• Biggest victory: 8-3 (v. Raymond van Barneveld)
• Biggest defeat: 1-8 (v. Phil Taylor)

Terry Jenkins

• Longest unbeaten run: 3
• Most consecutive wins: 2
• Most consecutive draws: 2
• Most consecutive losses: 6
• Longest without a win: 6
• Biggest victory: 8-4 (v. Ronnie Baxter)
• Biggest defeat: 2-8 (v. Mervyn King)