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The Whyte & Mackay Premier League is a darts tournament which launched on January 20, 2005 on Sky...

The Whyte & Mackay Premier League is a darts tournament which launched on January 20, 2005 on Sky Sports. The league is now played weekly from February to May, having originally started as a fortnightly fixture. The tournament originally featured seven players and now sees eight of the biggest names from the PDC circuit competing in a double round-robin format, with matches held across the country at different venues. The current sponsors are Whyte & Mackay who succeeded Holsten having signed a three-year contract to support the event in October 2007. The prize fund will rise from £265,000 to £340,000 in 2008 - with the guaranteed minimum of £20,000 (previously £15,000) for each player that qualifies. The top prize of £100,000 matches the prize of the 2008 PDC World Champion. Phil Taylor has dominated this event, winning four of the five competitions to date. He went unbeaten throughout the first three seasons before James Wade ended his 44 match run in the first match of the 2008 season. A new champion will be crowned after Mervyn King defeated him in the 2009 semi-finals. Wade defeated King 13-8 in the final, to pick up the £125,000 first prize. The matches have been broadcast on