The 2019 Unibet Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the fifteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 7 February at the Newcastle Arena in Newcastle and ended with the Play-offs at The O2 Arena in London on Thursday 23 May. It was also the last to feature Raymond van Barneveld, as he retired from professional darts after the following World Darts Championship, although he returned in 2022. He appeared a record 14 times in the competition.
Michael van Gerwen was the three-time defending champion after defeating Michael Smith 11–4 in the 2018 final. He won a fourth consecutive (and fifth overall) title by defeating Rob Cross 11–5 in the final.
Format The tournament format was modified for this season.
Phase 1: During the first nine nights, eight of the nine players play each other in four matches and the ninth player plays one match against one of the nine contenders. At the end of Phase 1, the bottom player is eliminated from the competition.
Phase 2: In the seven nights of weeks 9 to 15, each player plays the other seven players once. In a change from previous years, all players only play one match each night. Phase 2 matches have been increased to a maximum of fourteen legs, allowing for a 7-7 draw. In previous years, the maximum number of legs was twelve. At the end of Phase 2, the bottom four players in the league table are eliminated from the competition.
Play-off Night: The top four players in the league table contest the two knockout semi-finals with 1st playing 4th and 2nd playing 3rd. The semi-finals are first to 10 legs (best of 19). The two winning semi-finalists meet in the final which is first to 11 legs (best of 21).
Venues
Newcastle Glasgow Dublin Exeter Newcastle ArenaThursday 7 February SSE HydroThursday 14 February 3ArenaThursday 21 February Westpoint ExeterThursday 28 February Aberdeen Nottingham Berlin Rotterdam AECC ArenaThursday 7 March Nottingham ArenaThursday 14 March Mercedes-Benz ArenaThursday 21 March Rotterdam AhoyWednesday 27 & Thursday 28 March Belfast Liverpool Cardiff Birmingham SSE Arena BelfastThursday 4 April Liverpool ArenaThursday 11 April Cardiff International ArenaThursday 18 April Arena BirminghamThursday 25 April Manchester Sheffield Leeds London Manchester ArenaThursday 2 May Sheffield ArenaThursday 9 May Leeds ArenaThursday 16 May The O2Thursday 23 May
Players The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship final on 1 January, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards.
Gary Anderson, who qualified as fourth on the Order of Merit, withdrew on 4 February, three days prior to the tournament beginning, with a back injury.
PlayerAppearance inPremier LeagueConsecutiveStreakOrder of MeritRankPrevious best performanceQualification 7th 7 1 2nd 2 2 Semi-final (2018) PDC Order of Merit 6th 6 3 Runner-up (2017) 2nd 2 5 5th (2018) PDC Wildcard 3rd 2 6 Runner-up (2018) PDC Wildcard 2nd 2 7 10th (2018) PDC Wildcard James Wade 10th 1 10 Winner (2009) PDC Wildcard 2nd 2 8 9th (2018) 14th 14 28 Winner (2014) Sky Sports Wildcard
Nine invited players were chosen to appear on each of the nine Phase 1 nights in the slots which were available as a result of Anderson's withdrawal. The nine main players could earn league points if they won or drew against the invited players. The invited players would not earn any points in the competition.
PlayerVenueOrder of MeritRank Newcastle 35 Glasgow 74 Dublin 36 Exeter 56 Aberdeen 19 Nottingham 34 Berlin 30 Rotterdam (27 March) 33 Rotterdam (28 March) 43
Prize money The prize money for the 2019 tournament was set to increase to £855,000 from £825,000 in 2018. As the contenders picked up four draws between them it ended up being a total of £851,500.
Stage Prize money Winner £250,000 Runner-up £120,000 Semi-finalists (x2) £80,000 5th place £70,000 6th place £60,000 7th place £55,000 8th place £50,000 9th place £35,000 'Contenders' win (x0) £5,000 'Contenders' draw (x4) £3,500 'Contenders' lose (x5) £2,500 League Winner Bonus £25,000 Total £825,000
League stage Players in italics are "Contenders", and will only play on that night.
7 February – Week 1 (Phase 1) Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Score 99.24 7–4 Gerwyn Price 104.11 7–4 Daryl Gurney 98.78 98.53 6–6 104.98 7–5 101.56 6–6 Night's Average: 100.19 Highest Checkout: Michael Smith 150 Most 180s: Gerwyn Price and Chris Dobey 6 Night's 180s: 37
14 February – Week 2 (Phase 1) SSE Hydro, Glasgow
Score 6–6 7–4 James Wade 100.81 6–6 Gerwyn Price 95.60 Daryl Gurney 100.05 7–3 3–7 Night's Average: 97.09 Highest Checkout: Daryl Gurney 121 (x2) Most 180s: Michael Smith 6 Night's 180s: 29
21 February – Week 3 (Phase 1) 3Arena, Dublin
Score Gerwyn Price 96.22 6–6 5–7 7–2 93.18 5–7 Daryl Gurney 99.14 6–6 Night's Average: 95.95 Highest Checkout: Daryl Gurney 140 Most 180s: James Wade and Gerwyn Price 5 Night's 180s: 33
28 February – Week 4 (Phase 1) Westpoint Arena, Exeter
Score 6–6 99.48 Daryl Gurney 90.35 1–7 7–4 3–7 James Wade 95.65 7–4 Night's Average: 97.30 Highest Checkout: Luke Humphries 161 Most 180s: Peter Wright 5 Night's 180s: 24
7 March – Week 5 (Phase 1) BHGE Arena, Aberdeen
Score 100.21 3–7 Rob Cross 103.96 Daryl Gurney 94.45 0–7 3–7 3–7 6–6 Night's Average: 99.88 Highest Checkout: Rob Cross 164 Most 180s: John Henderson 6 Night's 180s: 21
14 March – Week 6 (Phase 1) Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, Nottingham
Score 2–7 Michael Smith 93.99 James Wade 97.05 3–7 7–3 2–7 6–6 Daryl Gurney 94.98 Night's Average: 96.07 Highest Checkout: Nathan Aspinall 158 Most 180s: Mensur Suljović 6 Night's 180s: 28
21 March – Week 7 (Phase 1) Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin
Score Gerwyn Price 98.17 4–7 6–6 5–7 85.34 2–7 Mensur Suljović 96.44 3–7 Night's Average: 95.93 Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 170 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 35
27 March – Week 8A (Phase 1) Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam
Score 5–7 Michael Smith 93.87 James Wade 103.35 6–6 5–7 1–7 1–7 Night's Average: 93.52 Highest Checkout: Gerwyn Price 141 Most 180s: James Wade 7 Night's 180s: 25
28 March – Week 8B (Phase 1) Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam
Score Daryl Gurney 98.28 7–3 5–7 7–4 84.68 1–7 7–4 Night's Average: 95.06 Highest Checkout: Peter Wright 160 Most 180s: Rob Cross 8 Night's 180s: 36
4 April – Week 9 (Phase 2) SSE Arena Belfast, Belfast
Score Mensur Suljović 93.69 8–6 James Wade 85.76 Michael Smith 100.78 7–7 Peter Wright 90.95 Rob Cross 104.71 8–4 Daryl Gurney 95.96 Michael van Gerwen 102.32 7–7 Gerwyn Price 98.73 Night's Average: 96.25 Highest Checkout: James Wade 137 Most 180s: Mensur Suljović 5 Night's 180s: 22
11 April – Week 10 (Phase 2) M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Score Rob Cross 102.03 8–5 Peter Wright 100.28 Gerwyn Price 89.24 8–5 Mensur Suljović 88.80 James Wade 90.17 7–7 Daryl Gurney 104.05 3–8 Night's Average: 98.97.35 Highest Checkout: Rob Cross 140 Most 180s: Daryl Gurney 6 Night's 180s: 26
18 April – Week 11 (Phase 2) Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff
Score 8–5 Daryl Gurney 91.42 Rob Cross 94.49 2–8 Michael Smith 99.11 5–8 Gerwyn Price 98.43 Peter Wright 85.48 2–8 James Wade 94.32 Night's Average: 95.26 Highest Checkout: Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith 170 Most 180s: Michael Smith 5 Night's 180s: 18
25 April – Week 12 (Phase 2) Arena Birmingham, Birmingham
Score 7–7 Michael Smith 101.25 Rob Cross 97.81 7–7 Gerwyn Price 101.18 Daryl Gurney 99.34 8–4 Peter Wright 96.04 James Wade 103.66 7–7 Night's Average: 100.80 Highest Checkout: Peter Wright 124 Most 180s: Michael Smith 7 Night's 180s: 25
2 May – Week 13 (Phase 2) Manchester Arena, Manchester
Score Rob Cross 102.54 8–1 Michael Smith 97.65 Peter Wright 89.49 6–8 Mensur Suljović 93.91 8–5 James Wade 94.30 8–4 Gerwyn Price 89.00 Night's Average: 94.20 Highest Checkout: Mensur Suljović 144 Most 180s: Rob Cross 5 Night's 180s: 19
9 May – Week 14 (Phase 2) FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield
Score Michael Smith 95.77 7–7 James Wade 92.80 Mensur Suljović 98.59 4–8 Rob Cross 102.66 Daryl Gurney 94.71 7–7 8–1 Night's Average: 98.34 Highest Checkout: James Wade 161 Most 180s: Rob Cross 7 Night's 180s: 25
16 May – Week 15 (Phase 2) First Direct Arena, Leeds
Score Gerwyn Price 98.58 8–3 Peter Wright 95.61 Daryl Gurney 101.80 8–3 Michael Smith 100.66 8–5 James Wade 94.40 8–6 Rob Cross 92.39 Night's Average: 96.88 Highest Checkout: Gerwyn Price 142 Most 180s: Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney 5 Night's 180s: 25
Play-offs – 23 May The O2 Arena, London Score Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) 96.48 10–7 Rob Cross 100.31 10–5 James Wade 91.91 Final (best of 21 legs) 103.36 11–5 Rob Cross 100.98 Night's Total Average: 97.76 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 8 Night's 180s: 21
Table and streaks Table After the withdrawal of Gary Anderson, nine invited players were added to replace him with one playing each week. After the first nine rounds in phase 1, the bottom player in the table is eliminated. In phase 2, the eight remaining players play in a single match on each of the seven nights. The top four players then compete in the knockout semi-finals and final on the playoff night.
The nine invited players are not ranked in the table, but the main nine players can earn league points for a win or draw in the games against them.
Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw. 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.
#Name Matches Legs ScoringPldWDLPtsLFLA+/-LWAT100+140+180sAHCC%1 W 16 10 3 3 23 107 67 +40 40 208 123 41 101.94 132 49.08%2 RU 16 10 2 422 102 76 +26 39 190 117 54 99.69 164 44.16%3 16 7 6 3 20 104 84 +20 38 274 150 44 97.87 161 43.70%4 16 8 3 5 19 93 86 +7 33 226 130 45 96.72 140 40.26%5 16 6 6 4 18 99 93 +6 33 223 94 54 96.16 170 42.67%6 16 7 3 6 17 94 95 –1 36 248 154 42 95.79 144 39.66%7 16 3 4 9 10 79 105 –26 24 215 133 55 97.08 170 35.59%8 16 2 5 9 9 76 108 –32 22 215 138 43 95.52 160 41.76%9 9 1 2 6 4 42 57 –15 12 115 65 25 90.35 170 36.46%
(Q) = Qualified For The Playoffs (E) = Eliminated From Playoff Contention
Streaks Player Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 8 Phase 2, Weeks 9 to 15 Play-offs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8A 8B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 SF F rowspan=2 colspan=2 rowspan=4 colspan=2 Mensur Suljović colspan=10 Contenders colspan=10
Legend: Win Draw Loss Eliminated
Positions by Week Player Phase 1, Weeks 1 to 8 Phase 2, Weeks 9 to 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8A 8B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 3 1 1 1 3 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 5 3 6 3 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 6 5 2 1 3 3 4 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 8 4 2 7 7 8 7 9 4 5 6 6 6 5 5 4 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 6 6 4 4 4 6 6 5 4 9 8 5 6 6 4 3 5 3 5 5 5 4 4 6 7 7 9 8 8 7 9 8 8 8 8 8 7 8 7 7 6 5 4 6 5 4 5 6 7 7 7 7 8 7 8 8 9 8 7 9 9 9 8 7 9 Eliminated
References
External links PDC Professional Darts Corporation, official website PDC Professional Darts Corporation, official website, Tournaments