2011 Championship League Darts Explained

The 2011 Championship League Darts was the fourth edition of a darts competition — the Championship League Darts. The competition was organized and held by the Professional Darts Corporation, with the 2011 edition having a maximum prize fund of £189,000.

Tournament Name:Championship League Darts
Dates:September 27 – October 20
Venue:Crondon Park Golf Club
Location:Stock, Essex
Country:England
Organisation:PDC
Format:Legs
Prize Fund:£189,000
Winners Share:£10,000
Nine Dart: Simon Whitlock
Phil Taylor
Winner: Phil Taylor
Prev:2010
Next:2012

The format of the tournament was similar to the Premier League Darts tournament, also organized by the PDC, except it was contested by a larger pool of players who were split up into a number of groups.

Every match could be watched on one of the thirty bookmaker websites who broadcast the competition. The tournament was available globally through the internet, except in the United States of America where it could not be shown for legal reasons.

Format

The first group consisted of the top eight players from the PDC Order of Merit who were available for the competition. These eight players played each other over the course of a day, receiving two points for each win. All matches were contested over a maximum of 11 legs with a player winning the match on reaching 6 legs. After all players had played each other, the four players with the most points progressed to the semi-finals with the winners of those matches progressing into the final.

The winner of the final progressed to the winners group which took place at the end of the competition. The runner-up, losing semi-finalists and the players finishing fifth and sixth moved into group two, where they were joined by the next three players in the Order of Merit. The format of the second group was the same as the first group with players moving into the third group. In total there were 8 groups before the final group took place.

This format ensures that all players who do not win the group or finish in the last two positions have another chance to qualify for the winners group.

Tournament dates

The tournament took place over 9 days throughout September and October 2010. One group was played on each day. The dates were as follows:[1]

The tournament took place at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

Group 6

Group 7

Group 8

Co Stompe withdrew following group 6 due to injury. As a consequence John Part was moved from starting in group 8 to group 7 and Jelle Klaasen was added as a replacement in group 8.[2]

Group winners in bold, players eliminated in italic

Group stage

Group 1

Played Tuesday 27 September, group 1 was won by Gary Anderson. Terry Jenkins and reigning world champion Adrian Lewis were knocked out.[3]

Group 2

Played on 28 September 2011 group 2 was won by world number one Phil Taylor. James Wade and Mark Webster were eliminated.[4]

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 29 September 2011 and won by Paul Nicholson. Andy Hamilton and Wes Newton were eliminated.[5]

Group 4

Group 4 was played on 11 October 2011 and won by Mark Walsh. Ronnie Baxter and Wayne Jones were eliminated.[6]

Group 5

Group 5 was played on 12 October 2011 and won by Mervyn King. Colin Lloyd and Jamie Caven were eliminated. In the group phase Simon Whitlock achieved a nine dart finish checking out 144 with double 18.[7]

Group 6

Group 6 was played on 13 October 2011 and won by Simon Whitlock, who finally won after reaching all five preceding play-offs. Denis Ovens and Colin Osborne were eliminated.[8]

Group 7

Group 7 was played on 18 October 2011 and won by Steve Beaton. Andy Smith and Robert Thornton were eliminated.[9]

Group 8

Group 8 was played on 19 October 2011 and won by Dennis Priestley. As this was the last group all other seven participants missed out on qualifying to the winners group.[10]

Winners Group

The winners group was played on 20 October 2011 and won by Phil Taylor, who in the group phase achieved the second nine dart finish of the tournament by checking out 141 with double 12.[11]

Coverage

The tournament was streamed worldwide through the PDC website. It was also streamed through thirty bookmaker websites.[12]

align=center Bookmaker websitealign=center Streamed in
align=left 12bet Worldwide
align=left 118 Bet Asia
align=left The Bet Arena Asia
align=left Bet24 Southern Europe
align=left Nordics
align=left Betathome Worldwide
align=left betboo South America
align=left Betclic Southern Europe * France
align=left UK, Ireland & Southern Europe
align=left Bets 10 Southern Europe
align=left Germany, Austria, Switzerland
align=left Danskespil Denmark
align=left Digibet Germany, Austria, Switzerland
align=left Expekt Nordics
align=left Favoritbet Central and Eastern Europe
align=left FDJ France
align=left Fortuna Central and Eastern Europe
align=left Russia
align=left Forvetbet Turkey
align=left Goldbet Italy
align=left Hititbet Southern Europe
align=left NordicBet Nordics
align=left UK & Ireland
align=left Paris Mutual Urbain France
align=left Mainland Europe
align=left UK & Ireland
align=left TrioBet CEE
align=left Europe
align=left CEE
align=left UK, Ireland & Australia

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Championship League Darts Groups. Planet Darts. September 6, 2011. September 7, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111001004717/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2443085,00.html. October 1, 2011. dead.
  2. Web site: Stompe Pulls Out Of CLD. PDC. 14 October 2011. 14 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111015074320/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2482274,00.html. 15 October 2011. dead.
  3. Web site: Anderson's Group One Glory. PDC. 27 September 2011. 27 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110929134314/http://www.pdc.tv/page/ChampionshipLeagueDartsDarts/0,,10180~2464044,00.html. 29 September 2011. dead.
  4. Web site: Taylor Claims Group Two Glory. PDC. 28 September 2011. 28 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110929153222/http://www.pdc.tv/page/ChampionshipLeagueDartsDarts/0,,10180~2465065,00.html. 29 September 2011. dead.
  5. Web site: Nicholson On Top In Group Three. PDC. 29 September 2011. 29 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111001113410/http://www.pdc.tv/page/ChampionshipLeagueDartsDarts/0,,10180~2466208,00.html. 1 October 2011. dead.
  6. Web site: Walsh Wins CLD Group Four. PDC. 11 October 2011. 11 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111013130405/http://www.pdc.tv/page/ChampionshipLeagueDartsDarts/0,,10180~2478152,00.html. 13 October 2011. dead.
  7. Web site: King Reigns In Group Five. PDC. 12 October 2011. 12 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111014031722/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2479097,00.html. 2011-10-14. dead.
  8. Web site: Six Is The Best For Whitlock!. PDC. 13 October 2011. 13 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111014031706/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2480144,00.html. 14 October 2011. dead.
  9. Web site: Seventh Heaven For Beaton. PDC. 18 October 2011. 18 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111020063425/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2485476,00.html. 20 October 2011. dead.
  10. Web site: Priestley Edges Painter For Group Eight Victory. PDC. 19 October 2011. 19 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111020063453/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2486905,00.html. 20 October 2011. dead.
  11. Web site: Winners group reports. PDC. 20 October 2011. 20 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111021061244/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2487880,00.html. 2011-10-21. dead.
  12. Web site: Championship League Darts Group One Fixtures. Planet Darts. September 21, 2011. September 21, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110925043252/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2457987,00.html. September 25, 2011. dead.