2009 Championship League Darts

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 and receive points for their performance. A win earned a player two points, unlike 2008 there was no draws. All matches were contested over 11 legs with a player winning the match when the reach 6 legs. When all players have 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 was 8 groups before the final group took place.

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

Players must have been in top 29 places in PDC Order of Merit following 2009 World Matchplay Darts in order to qualify. Thirty places used because of Raymond Van Barneveld withdrawing.

PDC Order of Merit following 2008 World Matchplay Darts.

1. Phil Taylor | 2. James Wade | 3. Raymond van Barneveld | 4. John Part | 5. Terry Jenkins | 6. Mervyn King | 7. Ronnie Baxter | 8. Adrian Lewis | 9. Colin Lloyd | 10. Alan Tabern | 11. Dennis Priestley | 12. Colin Osborne | 13. Wayne Mardle | 14. Mark Walsh | 15. Kevin Painter | 16. Andy Hamilton | 17. Robert Thornton | 18. Vincent van der Voort | 19. Denis Ovens | 20. Peter Manley | 21. Mark Dudbridge | 22. Jelle Klaasen | 23. Wayne Jones | 24. Andy Smith | 25. Roland Scholton | 26. Kirk Shepherd | 27. Co Stompé | 28. Tony Eccles | 29. Micheal van Gerwen | 30. Barrie Bates

The prize money remained the same as last years tournament.

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
Mervyn King	100	20	23	1	£2,500	£11,900
Phil Taylor	71	22	42	10	£5,000	£17,550
Adrian Lewis	160	6	28	0	0	£11,400
Alan Tabern	87	4	0	0	0	£4,750
Colin Lloyd	114	0	0	0	0	£6,200
Mark Walsh	108	21	28	0	0	£10,300
James Wade	41	12	24	2	£2,500	£8,550
Vincent van der Voort	54	8	0	0	0	£3,500
Colin Osborne	95	10	37	12	£10,000	£21,850
Robert Thornton	30	0	0	0	0	£1,500
Andy Hamilton	26	0	0	0	0	£1,300
Dennis Priestley	24	0	0	0	0	£1,200
John Part	22	0	0	0	0	£1,100
Ronnie Baxter	21	0	0	0	0	£1,050
Mark Dudbridge	41	3	0	0	0	£2,350
Wayne Mardle	36	12	20	0	0	£5,000
Denis Ovens	64	0	0	0	0	£3,200
Peter Manley	27	0	0	0	0	£1,350
Kevin Painter	61	10	0	0	0	£4,050
Terry Jenkins	79	8	0	0	0	£4,750

The tournament took place over 9 days throughout September and October 2008. One group were played on each day. The dates were as follows:

• Group 1 – Tuesday 15 September 2009
• Group 2 – Wednesday 16 September 2009
• Group 3 – Thursday 17 September 2009
• Group 4 – Tuesday 22 September 2009
• Group 5 – Wednesday 23 September 2009
• Group 6 – Thursday 24 September 2009
• Group 7 – Tuesday 20 October 2009
• Group 8 – Wednesday 21 October 2009
• Winners Group – Thursday 22 October 2009

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

The groups were as follows:

Note: Bold indicates group winner, italics indicate the eliminated players. In groups 1–7, players were eliminated for finishing in the bottom two of the league and in group 8, the players are eliminated for finishing in the bottom four and losing in the semi-finals and the final of the Group 8 playoff. Although in the Winners Group players are out of contention for the title for failing to win outright.[1]