The SMD League consists of the top nine teams in the area, playing in a league format, home and away over the course of sixteen fixtures. The team finishing in first place at the end of the season become the league champions, with the teams finishing bottom and second to bottom being relegated to the Kenny Tong League.
Playing Format
At the start of each SMD League fixture, the team captains select seven players from their respective squads to play the best of five legs of 501. After selecting their players, the team captains then do a blind draw to determine who will play against each other and in what order.
A ‘Gallon’ game is played prior to each match, which involves a single leg of 1001 played between a pair of players from each team. These players may or may not be involved in the main draw, with the gallon match often used to give additional players from each team the chance to be involved in a competitive game of darts on the night.
League Points
Players selected in the main draw earn a league point for their team if they win their best-of-5 game. The team with the most players winning on the night (the first team to win four or more games) is awarded an additional two points. When all fixtures are completed, teams are ranked by the number of points gained throughout the season. Where teams finish level on points, the ranking is determined first by the total number of matches won by the team’s players throughout the season. If that is also level, then the head-to-head record between the two teams is taken into account.
The winners of the gallon match earn their team two points in the Gallon league table, which is compiled separately from the main league.