THE Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts reached its half-way point following the seventh league night, held at The NIA in Birmingham last Thursday.
Phil Taylor heads the table unbeaten after picking up six wins and a draw in the first half of the campaign, but only four points separate the remaining seven players in the hunt for play-off spots.
A look at some of the key statistics from the opening seven matches can give some indication as to players' form and position in the league table.
Both Mervyn king and Ronnie Baxter have lost just twice in their opening seven matches to sit in joint second place, with King having the best checkout ratio of the eight players so far at 49 percent, while both are second only to Terry Jenkins in terms of the number of ton-plus scores hit.
Jenkins, though, sits bottom on four points after suffering four successive defeats, with a checkout ratio of 38 percent with 39 of 103 attempts successful.
Adrian Lewis has hit more 180s than any other player with 33, compared to 29 from King and 28 from Taylor, but the Stoke youngster has just a 35 percent checkout ratio, the lowest of the seven players.
Only Simon Whitlock has hit less ton-plus scores than five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, who has landed only one ton-plus finish so far this season and hit 21 180s, the fewest of the eight players.
Taylor's nine ton-plus checkouts have contributed to his overall tournament average of 101.11, with Baxter, Lewis and King his closest rivals with averages above 97.
Taylor has also dominated the Legs Won Against Throw column, with 24 so far, and is three points better off in the league table than he was at the same stage in 2009 (with 13 points compared to ten).
Reigning champion James Wade has not lost since week three in a steady incline in his form, having lost his opening three games, then drawn two and won his last two.
Lewis, on the other hand, is the league's most in consistent player after failing to pick up points in two successive matches this season.
Form
| Phil Taylor | WWWWDWW |
| Mervyn King | WWLWDDL |
| Ronnie Baxter | DLWWDLW |
| Simon Whitlock | LDWLWLW |
| James Wade | LLLDDWW |
| Adrian Lewis | LWLDLWL |
| Raymond van Barneveld | WLLLWDL |
| Terry Jenkins | DDWLLLL |
Overall Statistics
|
League Points |
Legs Played |
Legs Won |
Legs Lost |
LWAT |
Average | |
| Taylor |
13 |
82 |
55 |
27 |
24 |
101.11 |
| King |
8 |
94 |
50 |
44 |
19 |
97.03 |
| Baxter |
8 |
96 |
50 |
46 |
19 |
97.62 |
| Whitlock |
7 |
90 |
44 |
46 |
19 |
92.27 |
| Wade |
6 |
88 |
41 |
47 |
11 |
95.68 |
| Lewis |
5 |
90 |
42 |
48 |
15 |
97.18 |
| Barneveld |
5 |
85 |
37 |
48 |
12 |
95.61 |
| Jenkins |
4 |
91 |
39 |
52 |
17 |
94.75 |
Checkout Statistics
| Mervyn King |
50/102 |
49% |
| Simon Whitlock |
44/93 |
47% |
| Phil Taylor |
55/123 |
45% |
| Ronnie Baxter |
50/116 |
43% |
| Terry Jenkins |
39/103 |
38% |
| R v Barneveld |
37/100 |
37% |
| James Wade |
41/114 |
36% |
| Adrian Lewis |
42/121 |
35% |
Scoring Statistics
|
100+ |
140+ |
180 |
100+ Finishes | |
| Taylor |
99 |
65 |
28 |
9 (161,141,126,125,122 x2, 116,103,102) |
| King |
104 |
75 |
29 |
8 (161,142,130,124,121 x2,120,101) |
| Baxter |
127 |
66 |
22 |
6 (164 x2,124,121,112,100) |
| Whitlock |
105 |
52 |
24 |
5 (170,140,130,101,100) |
| Wade |
108 |
63 |
24 |
6 (148,132,128,127,104,100) |
| Lewis |
96 |
69 |
33 |
7 (140,134,127,121,118,102,100) |
| Barneveld |
115 |
46 |
21 |
1 (116) |
| Jenkins |
123 |
76 |
23 |
6 (137,122,121,116 x2, 101) |
League Table Comparison
After Seven Weeks
| 2009 |
Pts |
2010 |
Pts |
| Wade |
11 |
Taylor |
13 |
| Taylor |
10 |
King |
8 |
| King |
9 |
Baxter |
8 |
| Barneveld |
8 |
Whitlock |
7 |
| Part |
7 |
Wade |
6 |
| Jenkins |
5 |
Lewis |
5 |
| Mardle |
4 |
Barneveld |
5 |
| Klaasen |
2 |
Jenkins |
4 |
Watch the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts!
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Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Week Eight - CIA, Cardiff
Terry Jenkins v Mervyn King
Simon Whitlock v Ronnie Baxter
Adrian Lewis v James Wade
Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld
Watch Live!
Coverage of the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts is live on Sky Sports HD
Fans outside of the UK and Ireland can watch live in PDCtv - click here for information