Championship League was a PDC darts tournament that used a league and legs format similar to the Premier League but offered the top players outside the top 8 in the PDC Order of Merit a chance to compete for the championship. It was the first ever darts tournament to be solely broadcast on and funded by Internet distribution.PDC Website report – PDC Launch Championship of Darts from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 22-08-2008
The tournament was first announced on the official PDC website in mid-April under the name 'Championship of Darts'. It took place throughout September and October and featured a field of 29 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.PDC Website report – Championship League Darts Information & Groups from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 22-08-2008 Phil Taylor won the inaugural championship.PDC website report – Taylor Wins Championship League Darts from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 28-10-2008
The final tournament was held in 2013.– 2014 PDC calendar unveiled from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 13-11-2014
Internet coverage As there were no spectators in the playing room, coverage was exclusive to the Internet. The choice to broadcast the tournament over the Internet had been partly inspired by the Championship League snooker event and was also a successor to the live streaming of certain matches from the Blue Square UK Open regional finals from the PDC Pro Tour. The streaming was aided by the company Perform, a digital sports agency. Live streaming of every game was available on several sports betting websites, and was available internationally except in the United States of America where, for legal reasons, the Championship could not be shown.
Final results
Year Champion Score Runner-up Prize money Total Champion Runner-up 2008 Phil Taylor 7–5 Mervyn King £189,000 £10,000 £5,000 2009 Colin Osborne 6–4 Phil Taylor 2010 James Wade 6–5 Phil Taylor 2011 Phil Taylor 6–1 Paul Nicholson 2012 Phil Taylor 6–4 Simon Whitlock £176,750 2013 Phil Taylor 6–3 Michael van Gerwen £200,000
Records and statistics
Total finalist appearances RankPlayerWonRunner-upFinalsAppearances 1 Phil Taylor4266 2 Colin Osborne1016 James Wade1016 4 Mervyn King0116 Paul Nicholson0114 Simon Whitlock0114 Michael van Gerwen0114
Active players are shown in bold Only players who reached the final are included In the event of identical records, players are sorted by date first achieved
Champions by country CountryPlayersTotalFirst titleLast title3620082013
References
External links Championship League Darts page on the PDC website