2008 Championship League Darts
The 2008 Championship League Darts is the inaugural edition of a darts competition - the Championship League Darts.[1] The competition is organised and held by the Professional Darts Corporation and has a maximum prize fund of £189,000.
The format of the tournament is similar to the Premier League Darts tournament, also organised by the PDC, except it is contested by a larger pool of players who are split up into a number of groups.
In a first for darts the tournament will be shown in its entirety on the internet. Every match can be watched in the UK on the Ladbrokes and bet365 websites. The tournament will also be available globally through the internet, except in the United States of America where it can't be shown for legal reasons.
Format
The first group will consist of the top 8 players from the PDC Order of Merit who are available for the competition. These 8 players will play each other over the course of a day and receive points for their performance. A win will earn a player two points, whilst a draw will earn them 1 point. All matches will be contested over 10 legs with a player winning the match when the reach 6 legs or the match being declared a draw should the score reach 5-5. When all players have played each other, the four players with the most points will progress to the semi-finals with the winners of those matches progressing into the final.
The winner of the final will progress to the winners group which shall take place at the end of the competition. The runner-up, losing semi-finalists and the players finishing fifth and sixth will move into group two, where they will be joined by the next three players in the Order of Merit. The format of the second group will be the same as the first group with players moving into the third group. In total there will be 8 groups before the final group takes place.
This format ensures that all players who don't win the group or finish in the last two positions will have another chance to qualify for the winners group.
Qualification
Players must have been in top 29 places in PDC Order of Merit following 2008 World Matchplay Darts in order to qualify. 31 places used because of Raymond Van Barneveld and John Part withdrawing.
PDC Order of Merit following 2008 World Matchplay Darts.
1. Phil Taylor
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2. Raymond van Barneveld
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3. James Wade
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4. John Part
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5. Terry Jenkins
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6. Wayne Mardle
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7. Adrian Lewis
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8. Andy Hamilton
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9. Colin Lloyd
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10. Roland Scholten
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11. Dennis Priestley
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12. Peter Manley
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13. Alan Tabern
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14. Ronnie Baxter
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15. Colin Osborne
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16. Kevin Painter
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17. Mervyn King
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18. Denis Ovens
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19. Mark Dudbridge
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20. Vincent van der Voort
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21. Chris Mason
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22. Kirk Shepherd
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23. Andy Jenkins
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24. Barrie Bates
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25. Andy Smith
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26. Mark Walsh
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27. Adrian Gray
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28. Wayne Jones
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29. Mick McGowan
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30. Alex Roy
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31. Wes Newton
Player omissions and delays
Raymond van Barneveld, who is taking a two-month sabbatical from darts, and John Part, based in Canada, will not be competing in the tournament. Adrian Lewis will also enter in group 3, not group 1 as his ranking would suggest, because he has been suspended from playing in any PDC tournaments for two months following an altercation with Kevin Painter. Peter Manley is also entering the competition later than his ranking would suggest, for unknown reasons.
On 1 September it was announced that Dennis Priestley had withdrawn from group 2 due to his ongoing treatment for prostate cancer. As such he has been replaced in group 2 by Mervyn King. Subsequent group line-ups have also changed, with players from later groups being brought into earlier ones. Priestley hopes to return in time for group 7.[2]
Prize money
The prize money for the tournament is a unique concept with players winning a set amount of money for each leg that they win.
Groups 1 - 8
In groups 1 - 8 the prize money will be as follows:
- Group Matches - £50 per leg won
- Play-off Matches - £100 per leg won
Winners Group
In the winners group the prize money will be as follows:
- Group Matches - £100 per leg won
- Play-off Matches - £200 per leg won
In addition the winners group will have separate prizes for the winner, runner-up and losing semi-finalists. These prizes will breakdown as follows:
- Winner - £10,000 and a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
- Runner-up - £5,000
- Losing Semi-finalists - £2,500 each
Prize money won
The following table shows the amount of prize money that has been won by each player.
| Player | Group Legs won | Play-Off Legs won | Winners Group Legs won | Winners Play-Off Legs won | Final position money won* | Total money won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Phil Taylor |
41 | 13 | 41 | 13 | £10,000 | £20,050 |
| Mervyn King |
72 | 18 | 31 | 11 | £5,000 | £15,700 |
| Mark Walsh |
111 | 25 | 38 | 5 | £2,500 | £15,350 |
| Adrian Lewis |
219 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £15,250 |
| Andy Hamilton |
137 | 21 | 30 | 0 | 0 | £11,950 |
| Alan Tabern |
70 | 18 | 33 | 4 | £2,500 | £11,900 |
| Mark Dudbridge |
142 | 16 | 27 | 0 | 0 | £10,900 |
| Colin Osborne |
104 | 14 | 30 | 0 | 0 | £9,600 |
 Vincent van der Voort |
102 | 22 | 21 | 0 | 0 | £9,400 |
| Kevin Painter |
96 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £6,000 |
| Andy Smith |
92 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £4,900 |
| James Wade |
95 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £4,750 |
| Peter Manley |
88 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £4,600 |
| Wayne Mardle |
84 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £4,200 |
| Dennis Priestley |
63 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £4,150 |
| Wayne Jones |
65 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £3,650 |
 Barrie Bates |
65 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £3,550 |
| Colin Lloyd |
57 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £3,450 |
| Denis Ovens |
45 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £2,650 |
| Kirk Shepherd |
51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £2,550 |
| Chris Mason |
29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £1,450 |
| Ronnie Baxter |
28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £1,400 |
| Alex Roy |
28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £1,400 |
| Wes Newton |
27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £1,350 |
 Mick McGowan |
24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £1,200 |
| Adrian Gray |
22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £1,100 |
| Terry Jenkins |
19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £950 |
| Andy Jenkins |
18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £900 |
| Roland Scholten |
18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | £900 |
*Final position money is awarded to the semi-finalists of the winners group (£2,500), the runner-up, (£5,000), and the overall winner (£10,000).
Tournament Dates
The tournament will take place over 9 days throughout September and October 2008. One group will be played on each day. The dates are as follows:
- Group 1 - Tuesday 2 September 2008
- Group 2 - Wednesday 3 September 2008
- Group 3 - Monday 22 September 2008
- Group 4 - Tuesday 23 September 2008
- Group 5 - Wednesday 24 September 2008
- Group 6 - Thursday 25 September 2008
- Group 7 - Tuesday 21 October 2008
- Group 8 - Wednesday 22 October 2008
- Winners Group - Thursday 23 October 2008
The tournament will take place at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex.
Groups
The groups are as follows:
Note: Bold indicates group winner, italics indicate the eliminated players. In groups 1-7, players are eliminated for finishing in the bottom two of the league, in group 8 and the Winners Group players are eliminated for failing to win outright.
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Winners Group
- Phil Taylor
- Alan Tabern
- Mervyn King
- Andy Hamilton
- Colin Osborne
- Vincent van der Voort
- Mark Dudbridge
- Mark Walsh
Results
Group One
Played Tuesday 2 September, results as follows:[3]
League stages
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Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Taylor | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | +27 | 13 |
| 2 | Colin Lloyd | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +8 | 10 |
| 3 | Alan Tabern | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | +6 | 8 |
| 4 | Andy Hamilton | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 8 |
| 5 | James Wade | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +2 | 7 |
| 6 | Wayne Mardle | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 7 | Terry Jenkins | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -18 | 2 |
| 8 | Roland Scholten | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -23 | 1 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold - Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi-Finals
Final
Phil Taylor 7-0 Colin Lloyd
Group Two
Played Wednesday 3 September, results as follows:[4]
League stages
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Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Hamilton | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | +11 | 11 |
| 2 | Mervyn King | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +7 | 10 |
| 3 | Kevin Painter | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | +7 | 10 |
| 4 | Alan Tabern | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | James Wade | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
| 6 | Wayne Mardle | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -8 | 5 |
| 7 | Ronnie Baxter | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 4 |
| 8 | Colin Lloyd | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -14 | 3 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold - Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi-Finals
Final
Alan Tabern 7-6 Kevin Painter
Group Three
Played Monday 22 September, results as follows:[5]
League stages
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*Adrian Lewis hit a nine dart finish
Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Lewis | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +11 | 9 |
| 2 | Colin Osborne | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +9 | 9 |
| 3 | Mervyn King | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | +4 | 9 |
| 4 | Denis Ovens | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +2 | 9 |
| 5 | Kevin Painter | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | Andy Hamilton | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 6 |
| 7 | James Wade | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -7 | 5 |
| 8 | Wayne Mardle | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -14 | 3 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold - Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi-Finals
Final
Mervyn King 7-5 Adrian Lewis
Group Four
Played Tuesday 23 September, results as follows:[6]
League stages
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Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Hamilton | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | +9 | 11 |
| 2 | Adrian Lewis | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +11 | 10 |
| 3 | Vincent van der Voort | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +9 | 9 |
| 4 | Mark Dudbridge | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +6 | 9 |
| 5 | Colin Osborne | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | +9 | 8 |
| 6 | Peter Manley | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 6 |
| 7 | Kevin Painter | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -12 | 2 |
| 8 | Denis Ovens | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -28 | 1 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold - Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi-Finals
Andy Hamilton 6-0 Mark Dudbridge
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Final
Andy Hamilton 7-3 Vincent van der Voort
Group Five
Played Wednesday 24 September, results as follows:[7]
League stages
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Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Lewis | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | +17 | 11 |
| 2 | Colin Osborne | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | +10 | 10 |
| 3 | Mark Dudbridge | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | +4 | 8 |
| 4 | Peter Manley | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | +3 | 7 |
| 5 | Vincent van der Voort | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | Kirk Shepherd | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -3 | 7 |
| 7 | Chris Mason | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -9 | 4 |
| 8 | Andy Jenkins | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -22 | 2 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold - Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi-Finals
Colin Osborne 6-3 Mark Dudbridge
Final
Colin Osborne 7-5 Adrian Lewis
Group Six
Played Thursday 25 September, results as follows:[8]
League stages
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Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Walsh | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +14 | 10 |
| 2 | Adrian Lewis | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +9 | 10 |
| 3 | Vincent van der Voort | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +8 | 9 |
| 4 | Barrie Bates | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | +5 | 9 |
| 5 | Andy Smith | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | -1 | 8 |
| 6 | Mark Dudbridge | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -6 | 4 |
| 7 | Peter Manley | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -9 | 3 |
| 8 | Kirk Shepherd | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -20 | 3 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold - Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi-Finals
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Adrian Lewis
Final
Vincent van der Voort 7-2 Mark Walsh
Group Seven
Played Tuesday 21 October, results as follows:[9]
League stages
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Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Lewis | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | +12 | 12 |
| 2 | Mark Walsh | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +9 | 9 |
| 3 | Mark Dudbridge | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | +6 | 9 |
| 4 | Andy Smith | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | Wayne Jones | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -1 | 6 |
| 6 | Dennis Priestley | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 6 |
| 7 | Barrie Bates | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -5 | 6 |
| 8 | Adrian Gray | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -18 | 2 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Gold - Did not qualify for semi-finals but returns in next group, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi-Finals
Final
Mark Dudbridge 7-4 Adrian Lewis
Group Eight
Played Wednesday 22 October, results as follows:[10]
League stages
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Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Walsh | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | +17 | 12 |
| 2 | Wayne Jones | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | +8 | 10 |
| 3 | Dennis Priestley | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | +5 | 8 |
| 4 | Adrian Lewis | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 7 |
| 5 | Wes Newton | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 6 |
| 6 | Alex Roy | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -6 | 6 |
| 7 | Andy Smith | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -5 | 5 |
| 8 | Mick McGowan | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -14 | 2 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi-Finals
Dennis Priestley 6-4 Wayne Jones
Final
Mark Walsh 7-4 Dennis Priestley
Winners Group
Played Thursday 23 October, results as follows:[11]
League stages
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Final league table
| Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Taylor | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | +21 | 13 |
| 2 | Mark Walsh | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | +14 | 10 |
| 3 | Mervyn King | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | +1 | 8 |
| 4 | Alan Tabern | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +2 | 7 |
| 5 | Colin Osborne | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | -5 | 6 |
| 6 | Mark Dudbridge | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -9 | 5 |
| 7 | Andy Hamilton | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | -8 | 4 |
| 8 | Vincent van der Voort | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -16 | 3 |
NB: Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied.
Green - Qualified for the semi-finals, Red - Out of the tournament
Semi Finals £2,500 each
Final Winner: £10,000 & 2008 Grand Slam of Darts place, Runner-up: £5,000
Phil Taylor 7-5 Mervyn King
References
- ↑ PDC announce Championship League Darts Archived 20 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Priestley withdraws from group 2
- ↑ PDC website report - Taylor Wins Championship League Darts Opener from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 03-09-2008
- ↑ PDC website report - Tabern Wins Championship League Darts Group Two from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 03-09-2008
- ↑ PDC website report - King Reigns Supreme In Group Three from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 22-09-2008
- ↑ PDC website report - Hamilton Wins Group Four Title from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 23-09-2008
- ↑ PDC website report - Wizard Wins Championship League Darts Group Five from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 24-09-2008
- ↑ PDC website report - Dutch Ace Takes Group Six Win from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 25-09-2008
- ↑ PDC website report - Flash Denies Lewis Group Seven Title from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 22-10-2008
- ↑ PDC website report - Walsh Claims Last Winners Group Spot from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 23-10-2008
- ↑ PDC website report - Taylor Wins Championship League Darts Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. from the Professional Darts Corporation, obtained 23-10-2008