2022 Premier League Darts

2022 Cazoo Premier League Darts
Winner
Michael van Gerwen
Runner-up
Joe Cullen
Score
11–10
Dates
3 February – 13 June 2022
Edition
18th
Number of players
8
Venues
17
Nine Dart Finish
Gerwyn Price
Premier League Darts
< 2021 | 2022 | 2023 >

The 2022 Cazoo Premier League Darts was a darts tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the eighteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 3 February 2022, at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, and finished with the play-offs, at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin on Monday 13 June 2022.^[1]

Jonny Clayton was the reigning champion after defeating José de Sousa 11–5 in the 2021 final,^[2] but he lost 10–4 to debutant Joe Cullen in the semi-finals.

Michael van Gerwen won a record-equalling sixth Premier League title by defeating Cullen 11–10 in the final, after Cullen missed a dart at double to win the title, which would have made him the third debutant in a row (after Glen Durrant and Clayton) to win the title at his first attempt.^[3]

On Night 3, Gerwyn Price hit nine-dart finishes in consecutive matches (in his semi-final against Michael van Gerwen and the final against James Wade), making him the second person in Premier League history to hit two nine-darters on the same night, after Phil Taylor, who did both of his in the 2010 Premier League Darts final against Wade.

This tournament also saw the beginning of the PDC's new partnership with Winmau as their dartboard supplier.^[4]

Format

On 14 January 2022, the PDC announced a new format for the Premier League. Instead of the previously used round robin format, the event consisted of an eight-person knockout bracket every night. Each of the seven matches was played over the best-of-11 legs. The players were guaranteed to meet each other once in the quarter-finals throughout the first seven weeks and once in the quarterfinals in weeks 9–15, with weeks 8 and 16 being drawn based on the league standings at that point. Players received two points per semi-final finish, three points per runner-up finish, and five points per final win.^[5]

Though it was assured that players meet each other only twice in the quarter-finals on regular nights (i.e. weeks 1–7 and 9–15), no other guarantees are made. So certain players were drawn onto the same semi-final branch more often than others. For example, while Price–Wright, van Gerwen–Anderson and Wade–Smith pairs were on the same branch only when they play each other in the quarter-finals, a Wright–Anderson and van Gerwen–Smith final was possible only twice on the regular 14 nights.

Following the regular phase, the top four players in the league table contested the two knockout semi-finals with 1st playing 4th and 2nd playing 3rd.

Venues

2022 saw the return of the Brighton Centre, which was last used as a Premier League venue in 2017.

Liverpool

Glasgow

Exeter

Nottingham

Leeds

Cardiff

Sheffield

Aberdeen

Manchester

Birmingham

Newcastle

London

Belfast

Dublin

Brighton

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Locations of the 2022 Premier League venues in the UK and Ireland.

Berlin

Rotterdam

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Other locations of the 2022 Premier League venues in Europe.

Cardiff	Liverpool	Belfast	Exeter
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Thursday 3 February	M&S Bank Arena Thursday 10 February	SSE Arena Belfast Thursday 17 February	Westpoint Arena Thursday 3 March
Brighton	Nottingham	Rotterdam	Birmingham
Brighton Centre Thursday 10 March	Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Thursday 17 March	Rotterdam Ahoy Thursday 24 March	Utilita Arena Birmingham Thursday 31 March
Leeds	Manchester	Aberdeen	Dublin
First Direct Arena Thursday 7 April	AO Arena Thursday 14 April	P&J Live Thursday 21 April	3Arena Thursday 28 April
Glasgow	Sheffield	London	Newcastle
OVO Hydro Thursday 5 May	Utilita Arena Sheffield Thursday 12 May	The O2 Thursday 19 May	Utilita Arena Newcastle Thursday 26 May
Berlin
Mercedes-Benz Arena Monday 13 June

Prize money

The prize money for the 2022 tournament increased to £1 million, including a £10,000 bonus to each night's winner.^[6][7]

Players

Usually, the top four players in the PDC Order of Merit following the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship would be joined by six invited players, of which they would have been announced following the World Championship final. However, this year, following the announcement of the new format, it was announced that only 8 players will participate in 2022.

It was revealed that the new format would encompass eight players, each playing against each other in a knockout tournament each night. The winner of each night would receive an additional £10,000 towards their prize money. Those who make it out of the last 8 each receive 2 points, the runner-up will receive 3 points and the winner receives 5.

The full list of players was announced on 31 January 2022, with the Top 6 players on the PDC Order of Merit joined by the reigning Premier League champion Jonny Clayton, and debutant Joe Cullen, fresh from winning his first televised title at the Masters the previous evening.^[8]

This new format saw “Judgement Night” and relegation disappear from the league.

Player	Appearance in Premier League	Consecutive Streak	Order of Merit Rank on 31/1/22	Previous best performance
Gerwyn Price	4th	1[a]	1	5th Place (2019, 2020)
Peter Wright	9th	9	2	Runner-up (2017)
Michael van Gerwen	10th	10	3	Winner (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
James Wade	12th	2	4	Winner (2009)
Michael Smith	5th	1	5	Runner-up (2018)
Gary Anderson	11th	3[b]	6	Winner (2011, 2015)
Jonny Clayton	2nd	2	8	Winner (2021)
Joe Cullen	1st	1	11	Debut

League stage

3 February – Night 1 Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Jonny Clayton 103.61 6  Joe Cullen 95.36 2  Jonny Clayton 96.49 6  James Wade 91.45 4  Gerwyn Price 89.12 3  James Wade 88.78 6  Jonny Clayton 88.72 1  Peter Wright 113.02 6  Peter Wright 100.13 6  Michael Smith 88.57 3  Peter Wright 98.43 6  Gary Anderson 99.98 5  Michael van Gerwen 96.12 4  Gary Anderson 91.37 6 Night 1 Statistics Night's Total Average: 95.80 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Gary Anderson 155 Most 180s (in one match):  Jonny Clayton and  Joe Cullen 5 Night's 180s: 33

10 February – Night 2 M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Peter Wright 84.71 1  Michael van Gerwen 102.98 6  Michael van Gerwen 105.11 4  Jonny Clayton 106.64 6  Jonny Clayton 100.82 6  Michael Smith 95.95 3  Jonny Clayton 88.13 6  Joe Cullen 93.12 4  James Wade 87.85 3  Joe Cullen 93.74 6  Joe Cullen 101.54 6  Gerwyn Price 95.59 5  Gerwyn Price 96.33 6  Gary Anderson 90.85 3 Night 2 Statistics Night's Total Average: 95.95 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Gerwyn Price 156 Most 180s (in one match):  Joe Cullen 4 (x2) Night's 180s: 34

17 February – Night 3 SSE Arena, Belfast Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Michael Smith 103.55 3  Gerwyn Price 108.54 6  Gerwyn Price 108.90 6  Michael van Gerwen 106.48 5  Joe Cullen 91.88 3  Michael van Gerwen 91.05 6  Gerwyn Price 105.32 6  James Wade 99.91 4  Gary Anderson 96.43 4  Peter Wright 100.35 6  Peter Wright 105.20 4  James Wade 102.81 6  James Wade 93.13 6  Jonny Clayton 94.45 3 Night 3 Statistics Night's Total Average: 100.57 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Gerwyn Price 170 Most 180s (in one match):  Gerwyn Price (x2) and  Michael van Gerwen 5 Night's 180s: 43 Nine-Dart Finish:  Gerwyn Price (x2)

3 March – Night 4 Westpoint Arena, Exeter Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Jonny Clayton 97.39 1  Michael van Gerwen 102.36 6  Michael van Gerwen 104.37 6  Michael Smith 97.14 2  Michael Smith 97.31 6  Joe Cullen 93.89 5  Michael van Gerwen 99.10 6  Peter Wright 87.52 0  Gerwyn Price 94.89 2  Peter Wright 101.06 6  Peter Wright 103.46 6  James Wade 85.81 2  James Wade 97.01 6  Gary Anderson 99.76 4 Night 4 Statistics Night's Total Average: 97.22 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Joe Cullen 145 Most 180s (in one match):  Peter Wright 5 Night's 180s: 39

10 March – Night 5 Brighton Centre, Brighton Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Gary Anderson 85.71 1  Michael Smith 90.89 6  Michael Smith 89.19 6  Jonny Clayton 90.25 2  Peter Wright 102.92 5  Jonny Clayton 92.61 6  Michael Smith 100.61 4  Michael van Gerwen 103.89 6  Michael van Gerwen 96.41 6  James Wade 92.32 5  Michael van Gerwen 101.79 6  Joe Cullen 88.84 1  Joe Cullen w/o 6  Gerwyn Price w/d 0[a] Night 5 Statistics Night's Total Average: 94.62 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Michael van Gerwen 170 Most 180s (in one match):  Michael Smith 5 Night's 180s: 31 ^ Price couldn't compete at Brighton, due to a hand injury. Under the rules of the competition, his opponent, Cullen, was given a 6–0 win.[9]

17 March – Night 6 Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, Nottingham Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Michael Smith 102.92 6  James Wade 102.63 1  Michael Smith 89.11 6  Gerwyn Price 86.25 4  Michael van Gerwen 95.93 4  Gerwyn Price 102.70 6  Michael Smith 99.02 4  Gary Anderson 104.24 6  Gary Anderson 89.93 6  Jonny Clayton 91.65 5  Gary Anderson 101.88 6  Peter Wright 95.33 3  Joe Cullen 86.30 4  Peter Wright 87.02 6 Night 6 Statistics Night's Total Average: 95.35 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Michael van Gerwen 144 Most 180s (in one match):  James Wade 6 Night's 180s: 40

24 March – Night 7 Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Peter Wright 95.55 6  James Wade 91.09 5  Peter Wright 87.87 4  Joe Cullen 88.17 6  Gary Anderson 88.76 5  Joe Cullen 92.82 6  Joe Cullen 90.64 6  Michael van Gerwen 97.49 5  Jonny Clayton 98.50 6  Gerwyn Price 94.91 5  Jonny Clayton 98.08 3  Michael van Gerwen 103.28 6  Michael van Gerwen 89.53 6  Michael Smith 96.82 5 Night 7 Statistics Night's Total Average: 93.82 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Gary Anderson 164 Most 180s (in one match):  Joe Cullen 7 Night's 180s: 40

31 March – Night 8 Utilita Arena Birmingham, Birmingham Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                   1  Michael van Gerwen 87.93 2 8  James Wade 99.00 6 8  James Wade 94.78 6 4  Joe Cullen 86.38 2 4  Joe Cullen 93.69 6 5  Gerwyn Price 92.02 3 8  James Wade 83.97 1 3  Jonny Clayton 111.16 6 2  Peter Wright 97.20 6 7  Gary Anderson 92.49 5 2  Peter Wright 107.71 4 3  Jonny Clayton 103.68 6 3  Jonny Clayton 99.53 6 6  Michael Smith 99.81 1 Night 8 Statistics Night's Total Average: 96.38 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Peter Wright 156 Most 180s (in one match):  Peter Wright 6 Night's 180s: 29

7 April – Night 9 First Direct Arena, Leeds Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Michael Smith 102.21 2  Peter Wright 103.99 6  Peter Wright 86.37 3  Michael van Gerwen 90.74 6  Gary Anderson w/d 0[a]  Michael van Gerwen w/o 6  Michael van Gerwen 103.87 6  James Wade 93.59 1  Joe Cullen 87.77 1  Jonny Clayton 98.25 6  Jonny Clayton 96.96 4  James Wade 96.17 6  James Wade 90.65 6  Gerwyn Price 97.32 5 Night 9 Statistics Night's Total Average: 95.66 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Peter Wright 108 Most 180s (in one match):  Michael van Gerwen 5 Night's 180s: 23 ^ Anderson tested positive for COVID-19, and therefore had to withdraw. Under the rules of the competition, his opponent, van Gerwen, was given a 6–0 win.[10]

14 April – Night 10 AO Arena, Manchester Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Peter Wright 93.98 4  Gerwyn Price 97.01 6  Gerwyn Price 90.49 2  James Wade 93.00 6  Gary Anderson 94.07 2  James Wade 100.10 6  James Wade 105.48 6  Joe Cullen 96.93 5  Michael van Gerwen 105.14 5  Jonny Clayton 109.10 6  Jonny Clayton 101.76 3  Joe Cullen 94.99 6  Joe Cullen 94.38 6  Michael Smith 89.65 2 Night 10 Statistics Night's Total Average: 97.58 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  James Wade 161 Most 180s (in one match):  Peter Wright 5 Night's 180s: 33

21 April – Night 11 P&J Live, Aberdeen Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Jonny Clayton 93.53 6  Gary Anderson 87.44 2  Jonny Clayton 96.21 6  Peter Wright 99.60 5  Peter Wright 103.22 6  Joe Cullen 96.08 5  Jonny Clayton 103.40 6  Michael van Gerwen 102.76 5  James Wade 89.74 6  Michael Smith 91.04 5  James Wade 88.25 3  Michael van Gerwen 99.84 6  Gerwyn Price 92.10 3  Michael van Gerwen 106.93 6 Night 11 Statistics Night's Total Average: 96.44 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  James Wade 110 Most 180s (in one match):  Jonny Clayton (x2) and  Peter Wright (x2) 4 Night's 180s: 34

28 April – Night 12 3Arena, Dublin Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    James Wade 99.67 6  Michael van Gerwen 103.03 5  James Wade 114.73 6  Gerwyn Price 99.17 1  Gerwyn Price 90.06 6  Joe Cullen 81.02 3  James Wade 95.38 6  Jonny Clayton 101.29 5  Michael Smith 102.14 6  Gary Anderson 102.75 2  Michael Smith 104.73 4  Jonny Clayton 104.16 6  Jonny Clayton 100.44 6  Peter Wright 97.09 3 Night 12 Statistics Night's Total Average: 99.69 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Michael Smith 150 Most 180s (in one match):  Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 43

5 May – Night 13 OVO Hydro, Glasgow Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Peter Wright 87.10 2  Gary Anderson 97.21 6  Gary Anderson 89.15 4  Jonny Clayton 98.53 6  Jonny Clayton 95.55 6  James Wade 93.10 2  Jonny Clayton 99.81 6  Michael van Gerwen 96.41 3  Gerwyn Price 94.50 3  Michael Smith 99.19 6  Michael Smith 100.01 5  Michael van Gerwen 99.04 6  Michael van Gerwen 98.36 6  Joe Cullen 90.59 5 Night 13 Statistics Night's Total Average: 95.61 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Gary Anderson 150 Most 180s (in one match):  Michael van Gerwen 6 Night's 180s: 32

12 May – Night 14 Utilita Arena Sheffield, Sheffield Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Joe Cullen w/o 6  James Wade w/d 0[a]  Joe Cullen 90.69 3  Gerwyn Price 100.82 6  Gary Anderson 94.80 4  Gerwyn Price 100.26 6  Gerwyn Price 94.46 6  Michael van Gerwen 98.37 5  Michael van Gerwen 103.18 6  Peter Wright 90.93 1  Michael van Gerwen 95.15 6  Michael Smith 94.59 5  Michael Smith 95.67 6  Jonny Clayton 96.53 5 Night 14 Statistics Night's Total Average: 96.29 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Gary Anderson 128 Most 180s (in one match):  Michael Smith (x2) and  Gerwyn Price 4 Night's 180s: 27 ^ Wade was forced withdraw after falling ill during the 2022 European Darts Open, and was still in hospital in Leverkusen, after being ruled unable to fly home. Under the rules of the competition, his opponent, Cullen, was given a 6–0 win.[11]

19 May – Night 15 The O2, London Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                    Gerwyn Price 91.99 3  Jonny Clayton 96.22 6  Jonny Clayton 97.16 6  Michael Smith 92.70 4  Michael Smith 88.63 6  Michael van Gerwen 93.22 5  Jonny Clayton 91.44 4  Joe Cullen 93.04 6  James Wade 80.74 3  Peter Wright 94.30 6  Peter Wright 89.92 1  Joe Cullen 94.24 6  Joe Cullen 93.00 6  Gary Anderson 83.97 1 Night 15 Statistics Night's Total Average: 91.34 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Michael van Gerwen 145 Most 180s (in one match):  Joe Cullen 4 Night's 180s: 22

26 May – Night 16 Utilita Arena Newcastle, Newcastle Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs) Semi-finals (best of 11 legs) Final (best of 11 legs)                   1  Jonny Clayton 94.95 6 8  Gary Anderson 101.07 5 1  Jonny Clayton 96.14 6 4  Joe Cullen 92.28 4 4  Joe Cullen 94.29 6 5  Peter Wright 96.96 4 1  Jonny Clayton 94.12 3 7  Michael Smith 98.77 6 2  Michael van Gerwen 95.29 4 7  Michael Smith 96.48 6 7  Michael Smith 96.80 6 6  Gerwyn Price 88.24 3 3  James Wade 91.07 4 6  Gerwyn Price 89.69 6 Night 16 Statistics Night's Total Average: 94.73 [citation needed] Highest Checkout:  Michael van Gerwen 155 Most 180s (in one match):  Jonny Clayton and  Michael Smith 4 Night's 180s: 29

13 June – Play-offs

The top four players of the league stage contest in the play-offs to decide the champion of the Premier League.

Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin

	Score
Semi-finals (best of 19 legs)
93.59 Jonny Clayton	4 – 10	Joe Cullen 100.76
99.76 Michael van Gerwen	10 – 4	James Wade 93.48
Final (best of 21 legs)
99.36 Joe Cullen	10 – 11	Michael van Gerwen 99.10
Night's Total Average: 97.68 [citation needed]
Highest Checkout:  Joe Cullen 141
Most 180s In One Match:  Joe Cullen 11
Night's 180s: 27

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