2016 Champions League of Darts

The 2016 Champions League of Darts, also known as the Unibet Champions League of Darts for sponsorship purposes, was the inaugural staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. It took place from 24–25 September 2016 at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Wales. Phil Taylor won, defeating Michael van Gerwen 11–5 in the final.[1]

2016 Unibet Champions League of Darts
Tournament information
Dates24–25 September 2016
VenueMotorpoint Arena Cardiff
LocationCardiff
Country Wales
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatLegs
Prize fund£250,000
Winner's share£100,000
High checkout167 England Phil Taylor
(group stage, second match)
Champion(s)
England Phil Taylor
2017»

Format

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The eight qualifying entrants were first split into two groups of four, playing each other once in best of 19-legged matches. The top two players in each group then proceeded to a knockout stage of two semi-finals and a final, all best of 21 legs.

Qualifiers

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Only the top eight players on the PDC Order of Merit on 12 August 2016 qualified for the tournament; they were:

  1.   Michael van Gerwen (runner-up)
  2.   Gary Anderson (semi-finals)
  3.   Adrian Lewis (group stage)
  4.   Phil Taylor (winner)
  5.   Peter Wright (group stage)
  6.   James Wade (semi-finals)
  7.   Michael Smith (group stage)
  8.   Robert Thornton (group stage)

Prize fund

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The prize money was distributed as follows:[2]

Stage (number of players) Prize money
(Total: £250,000)
Winner (1) £100,000
Runner-up (1) £50,000
Semi-finalists (2) £25,000
Third in group stage (2) £15,000
Fourth in group stage (2) £10,000

Results

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Group stage

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[3][4]

All matches first-to-10 (best of 19 legs)

NB: P = Played; W = Won; L = Lost; LF = Legs for; LA = Legs against; +/− = Plus/minus record, in relation to legs; Average = 3-dart average; Pts = Points; Q = Qualified for K.O. phase

Knockout stage

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Semi-finals
(best of 21 legs)
25 September[5]
Final
(best of 21 legs)
25 September[5]
      
A1   Phil Taylor (4) 98.38 11
B2   James Wade (6) 94.66 3
A1   Phil Taylor (4) 98.97 11
A2   Michael van Gerwen (1) 100.92 5
B1   Gary Anderson (2) 96.22 5
A2   Michael van Gerwen (1) 105.67 11

Broadcasting

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In the United Kingdom, the event was televised by the BBC. The first group games were televised on BBC One; and, from the second group games onwards, BBC Two. Jason Mohammad presented coverage with Paul Nicholson, Mark Webster, and Alan Warriner-Little being the analysts. Vassos Alexander, Dan Dawson, Nicholson, and Warriner-Little were the match commentators.

References

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  1. ^ "Champions League of Darts: Phil Taylor beats Michael van Gerwen in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  2. ^ "2016 Champions League of Darts Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Champions League Groups Announced". PDC. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  4. ^ "2016 Champions League of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Stunning Taylor's Champions League Glory". PDC. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.