The Premier League Years: 2005

As we reach the business end of the 2020 Premier League Darts season, join us here at 180-Darts as we turn the clocks back fifteen years and relive the competition's inaugural season. 

The new competition sprang into life at the King's Hall on Stoke-on-Trent in January 2005. Phil Taylor, fresh from winning his tenth PDC World Championship (twelfth overall), was joined in the new competition by Colin Lloyd, Peter Manley, Roland Scholten, Wayne Mardle and wildcard Mark Dudbridge, Taylor's opponent at the Circus Tavern showpiece.

The matches were played over twelve legs with a draw a distinct possibility and two points were awarded to the match winner. The honours were shared in the event of a draw.

Taylor would open proceedings during week one in his hometown with a 7-5 win over Mardle before ending the evening with a 6-6 draw over Colin 'Jaws' Lloyd, the only time 'The Power' would drop points over the course of the league phase. John Part and Roland Scholten also played out a 6-6 draw and Mark Dudbridge was the night's other winner, prevailing 8-4 over Peter Manley.

Fresh from his run to the 2005 PDC World Darts Championship final, Mark 'Flash' Dudbridge got his Premier League campaign off to a flying start with an 8-4 win over Peter Manley. 

In Reading for week two, thrashings were the order of the day as Colin Lloyd comprehensively beat 2003 World Champion Part 9-3 before Taylor hammered Roland Scholten 10-2, recording the competition's first 100+ average in the process, recording an average of 105.81. Manley recovered from his opening day defeat to beat Wayne Mardle 8-4 while, in the first of his two outings of the evening, Scholten recorded a 7-5 victory over Dudbridge.

Dudbridge and Lloyd opened proceedings in week three with a 6-6 draw as the action moved to Taunton. John Part recorded his first win of the season, defeating Wayne Mardle 9-3 before Manley and Scholten also drew 6-6 in the penultimate match of the evening. In the eagerly anticipated World Championship final rematch there was no revenge for Mark 'Flash' Dudbridge as he went down 7-5 to Phil Taylor.

The force was strong with 'Darth Maple' as John Part recorded his first win of the 2005 season by beating Wayne Mardle 9-3 during week three in Taunton. 

Taylor topped another 100 average in the opening match of week four in Norwich on his way to recording a resounding 11-1 win over Wayne Mardle although 'Hawaii 501' was able to bounce back and take his first win of the season in the evening's final match with an 8-4 victory over Roland Scholten. Colin Lloyd, at this point the only player other than Taylor to be unbeaten, kept his undefeated streak alive with an 8-4 win over Manley while 'Darth Maple' Part overcame Dudbridge 7-5.

It was all smiles for Wayne 'Hawaii 501' Mardle as he recovered from an 11-1 defeat earlier in the evening to claim his first win of the season 8-4 over Roland Scholten during week four. 

It was a case of another week and another win for Taylor in week five at the Sands Centre in Carlisle, Peter Manley became his latest victim by way of an 8-4 scoreline. For the third time in four weeks, Taylor again tipped his average over the 100 barrier, ending on 100.20. Roland Scholten picked up just his second win of the season with a 7-5 victory over Mark Dudbridge before a pair of drawn fixtures rounded out the evening. Colin Lloyd preserved his own unbeaten record by tying with John Part which was followed by a stalemate between Manley and Wayne Mardle.

Roland Scholten was on target during week five as he recorded his second win of the season, prevailing 7-5 over Mark Dudbridge in Carlisle. 

John Part fell victim to a pair of 7-5 defeats at the Plymouth Pavilions during week six, losing to Peter Manley in the opening match of the evening before closing out proceedings with a defeat to Phil Taylor. For the second week running, both other matches on the evening ended in 6-6 draws as Mark Dudbridge and Colin Lloyd, Wayne Mardle and Roland Scholten shared the points from their respective fixtures.

In Kidderminster for week seven it was the turn of Colin Lloyd to play two matches on the evening, 'Jaws' took full advantage of his double header by recording wins over Roland Scholten in the first match of the night (7-5) and closing the evening victorious with an 8-4 win over Peter Manley. Mark Dudbridge beat Wayne Mardle 8-4 while Phil Taylor's unbeaten streak continued with a win over John Part by the same scoreline.

It was all smiles for Colin 'Jaws' Lloyd during week eight after he took maximum points from his two outings in Kidderminster during week seven. 

Just two more regular season fixtures remained as the action rolled into Widnes and Phil Taylor cemented his place as favourite to win the competition overall with two dominant wins, 9-3 and 11-1 over Mark Dudbridge and Peter Manley respectively. Colin Lloyd kept up the challenge at the top of the table with an 8-4 win over Roland Scholten while Wayne Mardle picked up just his second win of the season when he defeated John Part by the same scoreline.

There was a top of the table clash during week nine at the Doncaster Dome as Colin 'Jaws' Lloyd squared off to runaway leader Phil 'The Power' Taylor, a defeat for either man wouldn't really have been the end of the world but Taylor struck a psychological blow going into the playoffs by inflicting Lloyd's first defeat of the season by comfortably winning 10-2. Roland Scholten strengthened his claim for a playoff spot with a 7-5 win over John Part while Mark Dudbridge's own hopes of a top four finish took a blow via a 7-5 defeat at the hands of Wayne Mardle. In the evening's final contest, Peter Manley made certain of his spot in the playoffs with a 7-5 win over Scholten.

Peter Manley made sure of his spot in the playoffs with a 7-5 win over Roland Scholten in the final match of the penultimate weekly round. 

On a bumper night of action at the Charles Hall in Colchester the regular season came to an end. Despite winning the opening match of the evening 7-5 over John Part, Mark Dudbridge agonisingly missed out on the playoffs by a single point. 'Flash' failed to capitalise on Roland Scholten's 9-3 defeat to Phil Taylor by going down 7-5 to Peter Manley which allowed Dutchman Scholten into the top four. Part rounded off his maiden Premier League campaign with an 8-4 win over Colin Lloyd while Wayne Mardle signed off on a difficult first season with a pair of 7-5 defeats on the night to Manley and Lloyd.

Taylor ended the regular season atop the table by a comprehensive margin of seven points over nearest challenger Colin Lloyd. 'The Power' could boast an impressive +62 leg difference as well as a tremendous record of winning 46 legs against the throw. Lloyd took an impressive record of his own going into the playoffs, having lost just two matches during the weekly rounds and on another year might have even topped the table with his record. The top four was rounded out by Peter Manley and Roland Scholten.

The G-Mex centre in Manchester was the scene for the playoff weekend with the best of 25 leg semi-finals taking centre stage for the first evening. Taylor progressed by his smallest margin of the season by edging out fourth placed Scholten 13-11 in the first tie before Lloyd progressed through to the final via a comfortable 13-7 win over Manley.

It would be a fitting finale for the inaugural Premier League season as the campaign ended as it had started with Taylor taking on Lloyd over a distance of 31 legs. 'The Power' asserted his dominance over his nearest challenger 'Jaws' and comprehensively took home the trophy and the £50,000 top cash prize thanks to an assertive 16-4 victory.

Phil 'The Power' Taylor won the first of his six Premier League Darts titles with a 16-4 win over Colin Lloyd in Manchester. 

The Premier League was deemed a success after it's first season and it was safe to say Thursday nights would never be the same again.

That brings our historical look back at the inaugural Premier League Darts season to a close. We'll continue our look back through the competition's history on a regular basis, I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I like writing them. 

We'll be back soon with reports from the remaining evenings of the 2020 Premier League here on 180-Darts. 

Until then, take care.