The 2016 Betway Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the twelfth edition of the tournament.

The event began on 4 February at the Leeds Arena in Leeds and ended with the Play-offs at The O2 Arena in London on 19 May. The tournament saw its first visit to the Netherlands after agreeing to go to the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam on 12 May, joining 15 other venues across the UK and Ireland. This is the third year that the tournament was sponsored by Betway.

Gary Anderson was the defending champion, but he lost to Phil Taylor 10–7 in the semi-finals. Michael van Gerwen won his second Premier League Darts title by beating Taylor 11–3 in the final.

Van Gerwen also recorded the highest televised 3-dart average of 123.40 against Michael Smith during night 4 in Aberdeen.

Format The tournament format remained identical to that since 2013. During the first nine weeks (Phase 1) each player plays the other nine players once. The bottom two players are eliminated from the competition. In the next six weeks (phase 2), each player plays the other seven players once. Phase 2 consists of four weeks where five matches are played followed by two weeks where four matches are played. At the end of phase 2 the top four players contest the two semi-finals and the final in the play-off week.

Venues Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena became the first arena from outside the British Isles to host a Premier League event, it replaced the Brighton Centre.

Leeds Newcastle upon Tyne Dublin Aberdeen Leeds ArenaThursday 4 February Newcastle ArenaThursday 11 February 3ArenaThursday 18 February AECCThursday 25 February Exeter Nottingham Glasgow Liverpool Westpoint ExeterThursday 3 March Nottingham ArenaThursday 10 March SSE HydroThursday 17 March Liverpool ArenaThursday 24 March Cardiff Sheffield Belfast Bournemouth Cardiff International ArenaThursday 31 March Sheffield ArenaThursday 7 April SSE Arena BelfastThursday 14 April Bournemouth International CentreThursday 21 April Birmingham Manchester Rotterdam London Arena BirminghamThursday 28 April Manchester ArenaThursday 5 May Rotterdam AhoyThursday 12 May The O2Thursday 19 May

Players The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship final on 3 January 2016, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards. The ten players made up the top ten in the PDC Order of Merit following the World Championship. Stephen Bunting (world number 16) and Kim Huybrechts (world number 14) did not return from last year. Robert Thornton returned after a year out, and Michael Smith made his début. PlayerAppearance inPremier LeagueConsecutiveStreakOrder of MeritRankPrevious best performanceQualification Michael van Gerwen 4th 4 1 Winner (2013) Order of Merit Gary Anderson 6th 6 2 Winner (2011, 2015) Order of Merit Adrian Lewis 9th 7 3 Runner-up (2011) Order of Merit Phil Taylor 12th 12 4 Winner (2005–2008, 2010, 2012) Order of Merit Peter Wright 3rd 3 5 5th (2014) PDC Wildcard James Wade 8th 2 6 Winner (2009) PDC Wildcard Robert Thornton 3rd 1 7 5th (2013) PDC Wildcard Michael Smith 1st 1 8 Debut PDC Wildcard Raymond van Barneveld 11th 11 9 Winner (2014) Sky Sports Wildcard Dave Chisnall 3rd 3 10 Semi-finals (2015) Sky Sports Wildcard

Prize money The 2016 Premier League saw the introduction of a £25,000 League Leader's Bonus for the player who topped the league table following the 15 league nights, taking the total prize fund for the event up to £725,000 from £700,000 in 2015.

Stage Prize money Winner £200,000 Runner-up £100,000 Semi-finalists (x2) £75,000 5th place £60,000 6th place £50,000 7th place £45,000 8th place £40,000 9th place £30,000 10th place £25,000 League Winner Bonus £25,000 Total £725,000

Results League stage pdc.tv

4 February – Week 1 (Phase 1) First Direct Arena, Leeds Score Peter Wright 99.16 7 – 2 Michael Smith 86.15 Michael van Gerwen 98.30 4 – 7 James Wade 97.43 Phil Taylor 92.34 2 – 7 Raymond van Barneveld 103.60 Robert Thornton 75.68 0 – 7 Dave Chisnall 101.16 Adrian Lewis 100.03 7 – 1 Michael Smith* 80.97 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 167 Most 180s: Peter Wright & James Wade 5 Night's 180s: 24 *Gary Anderson was originally scheduled to play against Adrian Lewis, but was sidelined with an illness, so Michael Smith played twice in Round 1. Anderson played Lewis on 17 March (Round 7), giving Smith the night off.

11 February – Week 2 (Phase 1) Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne Score James Wade* 93.00 7 – 4 Michael Smith 91.74 Raymond van Barneveld 93.23 5 – 7 Peter Wright 88.19 Adrian Lewis 98.92 7 – 4 Dave Chisnall 98.80 Gary Anderson 106.23 3 – 7 Michael van Gerwen 111.88 James Wade 101.85 1 – 7 Phil Taylor 111.20 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Phil Taylor 127 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 25 *Robert Thornton was originally scheduled to play against Michael Smith, but was sidelined with an illness, so James Wade played twice in Round 2. Thornton played Smith on 24 March (Round 8), giving Wade the night off.

18 February – Week 3 (Phase 1) 3Arena, Dublin Score Peter Wright 104.48 7 – 4 James Wade 98.96 Dave Chisnall 96.88 6 – 6 Michael Smith 93.73 Phil Taylor 100.83 7 – 4 Gary Anderson 93.38 Michael van Gerwen 106.40 7 – 4 Adrian Lewis 98.54 Robert Thornton 89.89 5 – 7 Raymond van Barneveld 102.60 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Peter Wright 161 Most 180s: Dave Chisnall & Michael van Gerwen 5 Night's 180s: 36

25 February – Week 4 (Phase 1) GE Oil & Gas Arena, Aberdeen Score Adrian Lewis 99.55 7 – 5 James Wade 97.27 Gary Anderson 103.34 7 – 3 Raymond van Barneveld 98.89 Michael van Gerwen WR 123.40 7 – 1 Michael Smith 91.41 Phil Taylor 115.25 7 – 5 Dave Chisnall 109.63 Peter Wright 98.45 6 – 6 Robert Thornton 91.98 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 142 Most 180s: Phil Taylor 7 Night's 180s: 40

3 March – Week 5 (Phase 1) Westpoint Arena, Exeter Score Phil Taylor 104.00 7 – 1 Adrian Lewis 93.11 Dave Chisnall 96.26 4 – 7 James Wade 102.25 Robert Thornton 85.80 4 – 7 Gary Anderson 89.88 Peter Wright 108.98 2 – 7 Michael van Gerwen 116.67 Michael Smith 95.77 7 – 5 Raymond van Barneveld 92.19 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: James Wade 161 Most 180s: Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen & Michael Smith 4 Night's 180s: 25

10 March – Week 6 (Phase 1) Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, Nottingham Score Michael Smith 95.54 3 – 7 Gary Anderson 102.19 Peter Wright 106.79 3 – 7 Adrian Lewis 107.93 Raymond van Barneveld 101.17 5 – 7 James Wade 100.50 Robert Thornton 88.38 0 – 7 Phil Taylor 102.15 Dave Chisnall 93.03 2 – 7 Michael van Gerwen 113.47 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 161 Most 180s: Adrian Lewis & Phil Taylor 5 Night's 180s: 31

17 March – Week 7 (Phase 1) SSE Hydro, Glasgow Score Gary Anderson 99.39 7 – 4 Adrian Lewis 93.00 James Wade 100.81 7 – 4 Robert Thornton 101.35 Michael van Gerwen 107.35 6 – 6 Phil Taylor 103.12 Raymond van Barneveld 104.90 7 – 4 Dave Chisnall 96.27 Gary Anderson 102.75 7 – 5 Peter Wright 101.31 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 170 Most 180s: Dave Chisnall 5 Night's 180s: 34

24 March – Week 8 (Phase 1) Echo Arena Liverpool, Liverpool Score Michael Smith 92.48 5 – 7 Robert Thornton 92.88 Gary Anderson 103.25 7 – 4 Dave Chisnall 100.01 Adrian Lewis 96.57 7 – 5 Raymond van Barneveld 98.35 Phil Taylor 101.51 6 – 6 Peter Wright 103.40 Michael van Gerwen 97.57 6 – 6 Robert Thornton 95.59 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 144 Most 180s: Peter Wright 5 Night's 180s: 31

31 March – Week 9 (Phase 1) Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff Score James Wade 95.18 6 – 6 Gary Anderson 100.68 Michael Smith 94.82 5 – 7 Phil Taylor 99.92 Dave Chisnall 93.92 5 – 7 Peter Wright 97.14 Robert Thornton 92.54 4 – 7 Adrian Lewis 96.82 Raymond van Barneveld 101.69 6 – 6 Michael van Gerwen 105.59 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Phil Taylor 124 Most 180s: Gary Anderson 5 Night's 180s: 34

7 April – Week 10 (Phase 2) Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield Score James Wade 97.25 7 – 4 Raymond van Barneveld 97.23 Gary Anderson 92.83 3 – 7 Phil Taylor 99.31 Robert Thornton 104.23 5 – 7 Michael van Gerwen 117.95 Adrian Lewis 88.68 6 – 6 Peter Wright 93.43 Phil Taylor 92.91 7 – 4 James Wade 91.50 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 138 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 30

14 April – Week 11 (Phase 2) SSE Arena Belfast, Belfast Score Robert Thornton 105.63 7 – 2 Peter Wright 92.48 Raymond van Barneveld 96.14 5 – 7 Phil Taylor 100.36 James Wade 95.95 5 – 7 Adrian Lewis 103.54 Michael van Gerwen 110.55 6 – 6 Gary Anderson 108.24 Raymond van Barneveld 92.53 7 – 4 Robert Thornton 88.16 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 144 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 29 Nine-dart finish: Adrian Lewis

21 April – Week 12 (Phase 2) Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth Score Michael van Gerwen 103.38 7 – 2 Peter Wright 98.30 Raymond van Barneveld 93.09 7 – 4 Adrian Lewis 90.42 Gary Anderson 103.07 6 – 6 James Wade 99.71 Phil Taylor 89.61 7 – 2 Robert Thornton 93.61 Adrian Lewis 92.98 5 – 7 Michael van Gerwen 96.82 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Adrian Lewis 142 Most 180s: Gary Anderson 5 Night's 180s: 22

28 April – Week 13 (Phase 2) Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham Score Peter Wright 99.67 7 – 4 Phil Taylor 106.48 Raymond van Barneveld 99.64 5 – 7 Gary Anderson 99.19 Adrian Lewis 96.55 7 – 2 Robert Thornton 94.55 James Wade 102.40 1 – 7 Michael van Gerwen 108.33 Peter Wright 103.45 6 – 6 Gary Anderson 101.51 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 132 Most 180s: Peter Wright 7 Night's 180s: 22

5 May – Week 14 (Phase 2) Manchester Arena, Manchester Score James Wade 97.29 1 – 7 Peter Wright 99.15 Gary Anderson 99.33 7 – 1 Robert Thornton 90.40 Michael van Gerwen 107.93 7 – 2 Raymond van Barneveld 100.78 Adrian Lewis 94.11 2 – 7 Phil Taylor 103.72 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 167 Most 180s: Peter Wright 6 Night's 180s: 20

12 May – Week 15 (Phase 2) Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam Score Robert Thornton 85.57 3 – 7 James Wade 89.16 Peter Wright 90.33 6 – 6 Raymond van Barneveld 90.02 Adrian Lewis 93.22 7 – 2 Gary Anderson 97.21 Phil Taylor 95.55 5 – 7 Michael van Gerwen 101.24 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 164 Most 180s : Michael van Gerwen 4 Night's 180s: 14

Play-offs – 19 May The O2 Arena, London Score Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) Michael van Gerwen 103.19 10 – 4 Adrian Lewis 95.47 Phil Taylor 98.21 10 – 7 Gary Anderson 96.86 Final (best of 21 legs) Michael van Gerwen 104.68 11 – 3 Phil Taylor 98.84 Night's Average: Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 121

League summary Table After the first nine weeks (phase 1), the bottom two in the table are eliminated. Each remaining player plays a further seven matches (phase 2). The top four players then compete in the playoffs.

When players are tied on points, leg difference is used first as a tie-breaker, after that legs won against throw and then tournament average.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! style="width:10px;" abbr="Position"|# ! width=200 |Name ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Played"|Pld ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Won"|W ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Drawn"|D ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Lost"|L ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Points|Pts ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs For"|LF ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs Against"|LA ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Leg Difference"|+/- ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs Won Against Throw"|LWAT ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Tons"|100+ ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Ton Plus"|140+ ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Maximums"|180s ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Average"|A ! style="width:20px;" abbr="High Checkout"|HC ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Checkout Percentage"|C%

|- style="background:#cfc;" !1 |align=left| || 16 || 11 || 4 || 1 ||26|| 105 || 63 || +42 || 39 || || || 62 || 107.93 || 170 || 49.30%