Masters (darts)
| The Masters | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Arena:MK |
| Location | Milton Keynes |
| Country | England |
| Established | 2013 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC |
| Format | Legs |
| Prize fund | £200,000 (2014/2015) [1] |
| Month(s) Played | October/November (2014-2015) February (2015) |
| Current champion(s) | |
 Michael van Gerwen | |
The Masters, also known as the Unibet Masters for sponsorship purposes, [2] is a PDC darts tournament which features the top 16 darts players according to the Order of Merit.
The inaugural tournament, held in 2013, was won by Phil Taylor, who defeated Adrian Lewis 10-1 in the final. James Wade won the following year by defeating Mervyn King 11-10 in the 2014 final. The reigning champion is Michael van Gerwen, who won the title by defeating Raymond van Barneveld 11-6.
In 2013 and 2014 the tournament took place in the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland and was played in late October/early November. However, the tournament was moved to February in 2015 and had a new venue at the Arena:MK in Milton Keynes, England. [3]
Format
The tournament features the top 16 of the Order of Merit, with all players being seeded. The first round and the quarter finals are played over best of 19 legs, the semi finals and the final are played over best of 21 legs.
Finals
| Year | Champion (average in final) | Score | Runner-Up (average in final) | Sponsor | Prize Money | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Champion | Runner-Up | |||||
| 2013 |  Phil Taylor (108.50)
|
10-1 | Adrian Lewis (100.03)
|
Coral | £160,000 | £50,000 | £20,000 |
| 2014 | James Wade (91.39)
|
11-10 | Mervyn King (92.15)
|
Unibet | |||
| 2015 | Michael van Gerwen (112.49)
|
11-6 | Raymond van Barneveld (96.13)
|
Unibet | £200,000 | £60,000 | £25,000 |
Media Coverage
The Masters will be broadcast by ITV4 in the United Kingdom for at least the first four editions. [4]
References
- ^ http:// www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?TournKey=1477
- ^ http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/1rkd3a7gg3fst1m1t5oqz71kbj/title/unibet-to-sponsor-the-unibet-masters
- ^ http://www.pdc.tv/news/article/b0pb2i1l367117glhwgdwhs31/title/2015-pdc-calendar-amendments
- ^ http://www.pdc.tv/the-masters/article/nd0wsprxrmp61ggiev9jovs8t/title/pdc--itv-sign-new-four-event-deal