PDC World Darts Championship 2016: Schedule & results

The William Hill PDC World Darts Championship took place at Alexandra Palace in London as the biggest names in the sport set about their quest to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy on January 3 2016.

Gary Anderson was of course the defending champion following his thrilling victory over Phil Taylor in the 2015 final but Dutchman Michael van Gerwen headed into the tournament as hot favourite after his superb title-laden season.

Here, you can find out how the tournament unfolded with all the round-by-round results while you can check out the World Championship history, roll of honour and a list of the event's nine-dart finishes at the bottom of this story...

PDC World Darts Championship Draw & Tournament Bracket

• See schedule section below for daily results from every rounds

Preliminary Round Draw
Michael Rasztovits (Austria) 0-2 Rob Szabo (New Zealand)
Keita Ono (Japan) 2-0 Alex Tagarao (Philippines)
Warrick Scheffer (South Africa) 0-2 John Michael (Greece)
Qiang Sun (China) 0-2 Mick McGowan (Ireland)
Aleksandr Oreshkin (Russia) 2-1 Paul Lim (Singapore)
Kim Viljanen (Finland) 2-1 Sven Groen (Netherlands)
Andy Boulton (England) 2-1 Per Laursen (Denmark)
Thanawat Gaweenuntawong (Thailand) 0-2 Rene Eidams (Germany)

First Round Draw & Tournament Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) 3-2 Rene Eidams
John Henderson (32) 1-3 Darren Webster
Raymond van Barneveld (16) 3-0 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Stephen Bunting (17) 3-0 Jyhan Artut
Michael Smith (8) 3-2 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Steve Beaton (25) 3-0 Koha Kokiri
Ian White (9) 1-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Benito van de Pas (24) 3-1 Max Hopp
Adrian Lewis (5) 3-0 Jan Dekker
Andrew Gilding (28) 3-0 Gerwyn Price
Kim Huybrechts (12) 2-3 David Pallett
Mensur Suljovic (21) 3-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Peter Wright (4) 3-0 Keegan Brown
Dean Winstanley (29) 2-3 Ronny Huybrechts
Dave Chisnall (13) 3-0 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Justin Pipe (20) 0-3 Christian Kist
Gary Anderson (2) 3-0 Andy Boulton
Jamie Lewis (31) 1-3 Daryl Gurney
Vincent van der Voort (15) 3-0 Loz Ryder
Brendan Dolan (18) 0-3 Kyle Anderson
James Wade (7) 3-0 John Michael
Wes Newton (26) 3-1 Cristo Reyes
Simon Whitlock (10) 2-3 Ricky Evans
Jamie Caven (23) 3-0 Rob Szabo
Robert Thornton (6) 0-3 Alan Norris
Andy Hamilton (27) 2-3 Joe Murnan
Terry Jenkins (11) 3-1 Darin Young
Mark Webster (22) 3-0 Mick McGowan
Phil Taylor (3) 3-0 Keita Ono
Kevin Painter (30) 3-0 Kim Viljanen
Mervyn King (14) 3-2 Aleksandr Oreshkin
Jelle Klaasen (19) 3-0 Joe Cullen

PDC World Darts Championship Schedule & Results

(P) is for Preliminary Round matches

Thursday December 17 (1900-2300)
Preliminary Round (Best of three sets, No tie-break)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Andy Boulton 2-1 Per Laursen (P)
Jamie Lewis 1-3 Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright 3-0 Keegan Brown
Gary Anderson 3-0 Andy Boulton

Friday December 18
Afternoon Session (1300-1700)
Preliminary Round (Best of three sets, No tie-break)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Qiang Sun 0-2 Mick McGowan (P)
John Henderson 1-3 Darren Webster
Justin Pipe 0-3 Christian Kist
Mark Webster 3-0 Mick McGowan

Evening Session (1900-2300)
Preliminary Round (Best of three sets, No tie-break)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Thanawat Gaweenuntawong 0-2 Rene Eidams (P)
Brendan Dolan 0-3 Kyle Anderson
Kim Huybrechts 2-3 David Pallett
Michael van Gerwen 3-2 Rene Eidams

Saturday December 19
Afternoon Session (1300-1700)
Preliminary Round (Best of three sets, No tie-break)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Kim Viljanen 2-1 Sven Groen (P)
Steve Beaton 3-0 Koha Kokiri
Ian White 1-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Kevin Painter 3-0 Kim Viljanen

Evening Session (1900-2300)
Preliminary Round (Best of three sets, No tie-break)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Keita Ono 2-0 Alex Tagarao (P)
Simon Whitlock 2-3 Ricky Evans
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Laurence Ryder
Phil Taylor 3-0 Keita Ono

Sunday December 20
Afternoon Session (1300-1700)
Preliminary Round (Best of three sets, No tie-break)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Michael Rasztovits 0-2 Rob Szabo (P)
Andy Hamilton 2-3 Joe Murnan
Mensur Suljovic 3-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Jamie Caven 3-0 Rob Szabo

Evening Session (1900-2300)
Preliminary Round (Best of three sets, No tie-break)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Aleksandr Oreshkin 2-1 Paul Lim (P)
Stephen Bunting 3-0 Jyhan Artut
Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Mervyn King 3-2 Aleksandr Oreshkin

Monday December 21 (1900-2300)
Preliminary Round (Best of three sets, No tie-break)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Warrick Scheffer 0-2 John Michael (P)
Robert Thornton 0-3 Alan Norris
Michael Smith 3-2 Jeffrey De Zwaan
James Wade 3-0 John Michael

Tuesday December 22 (1900-2300)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Dean Winstanley 2-3 Ronny Huybrechts
Wes Newton 3-1 Cristo Reyes
Dave Chisnall 3-0 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Terry Jenkins 3-1 Darin Young

Wednesday December 23 (1900-2300)
First Round (Best of five sets)
Andrew Gilding 3-0 Gerwyn Price
Benito van de Pas 3-1 Max Hopp
Adrian Lewis 3-0 Jan Dekker
Jelle Klaasen 3-0 Joe Cullen

Saturday December 26 (1800-2200)
Second Round (Best of seven sets)
Ricky Evans 0-4 Jamie Caven
Dave Chisnall 4-1 Christian Kist
Gary Anderson 4-1 Daryl Gurney

Sunday December 27
Afternoon Session (1300-1700)
Second Round (Best of seven sets)
Michael Smith 4-2 Steve Beaton
Dimitri Van den Bergh 2-4 Benito van de Pas
Vincent van der Voort 4-2 Kyle Anderson

Evening Session (1900-2300)
Second Round (Best of seven sets)
Raymond van Barneveld 4-3 Stephen Bunting
James Wade 4-0 Wes Newton
Michael van Gerwen 4-0 Darren Webster

Monday December 28
Afternoon Session (1300-1700)
Second Round (Best of seven sets)
Alan Norris 4-1 Joe Murnan
Terry Jenkins 0-4 Mark Webster
David Pallett 3-4 Mensur Suljovic

Evening Session (1930-2330)
Second Round (Best of seven sets)
Adrian Lewis 4-0 Andrew Gilding
Peter Wright 4-0 Ronny Huybrechts
Phil Taylor 4-1 Kevin Painter

Tuesday December 29
Afternoon Session (1300-1700)
Second Round (Best of seven sets)
Mervyn King 2-4 Jelle Klaasen
Third Round (Best of seven sets)
Michael Smith 4-0 Benito van de Pas
James Wade 4-1 Jamie Caven

Evening Session (1900-2300)
Third Round (Best of seven sets)
Adrian Lewis 4-0 Mensur Suljovic
Gary Anderson 4-0 Vincent van der Voort
Michael van Gerwen 3-4 Raymond van Barneveld

Wednesday December 30 (1900-2300)
Third Round (Best of seven sets)
Peter Wright 4-3 Dave Chisnall
Alan Norris 4-1 Mark Webster
Phil Taylor 3-4 Jelle Klaasen

Friday January 1
Quarter-Finals (Best of nine sets)
Afternoon Session (1300-1630)
Alan Norris 4-5 Jelle Klaasen
Gary Anderson 5-1 James Wade

Evening Session (1930-2300)
Quarter-Finals (Best of nine sets)
Raymond van Barneveld 5-4 Michael Smith
Adrian Lewis 5-2 Peter Wright

Saturday January 2 (2000-2330)
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 sets)
Raymond van Barneveld 3-6 Adrian Lewis
Jelle Klaasen 0-6 Gary Anderson

Sunday January 3 (1900-2200)
Final (Best of 13 sets)
Adrian Lewis 5-7 Gary Anderson
Click for report

PDC World Championship 2016: Tournament Statistics

In addition to the record breaking number of maximums in the final, there were also more 180s hit throughout the 2016 World Championship than any previous staging of the tournament.

The sport's showpiece event saw 654 maximums landed, eclipsing the 625 180s that were hit in the 2015 tournament.

Here are a selection of statistics:

Tournament Average: 92.97
Highest Average in a Match: 109.23 (Van Gerwen)
First Three Darts Average: 101.01
Highest in a Match: 132.94 (Michael Smith)
First Nine Darts Average: 303.08
Highest in a Match: 371.63 (Michael Smith)Highest Checkout: 170 (Rodriguez, Anderson, Taylor, Klaasen, Van Gerwen)
Tournament Checkout Average: 37.80%
Highest in a Match: 83.33% (Jan Dekker)Total 180s: 654
180s Per Match: 9.21
180s Per Leg: 0.49
One 180 every: 2.04 Legs
Tournament 100+: 3257
Tournament 140+: 1712
Tournament 170+: 87Total Sets Played: 319
Total Legs Played: 1332Legs Won On Throw: 827 (62.09%)
Legs Won Against Throw: 505 (37.91%)

PDC World Darts Championship Format & Prize Money

Format
Preliminary Round - Best of three sets. No tie-break.
First Round - Best of five sets
Second Round - Best of seven sets
Third Round - Best of seven sets
Quarter-Finals - Best of nine sets
Semi-Finals - Best of 11 sets
Final - Best of 13 sets

All sets are the best of five legs.
In the Preliminary Round there will be no tie-break, and should a game go to the third set, the fifth leg would be the deciding leg.
In all other rounds, a tie-break would apply in the final set only, where a player must win by two clear legs. Should the score in the final set reach 5-5, a sudden-death leg would be played.

Prize Fund

Winner £300,000
Runner-Up £150,000
Semi-Finalists £70,000
Quarter-Finalists £35,000
Third Round Losers £22,000
Second Round Losers £15,000
First Round Losers £10,000
Preliminary Round Losers £4,250
Total £1,500,000
Nine-Dart Bonus £15,000

PDC World Darts Championship History

The World Darts Championship is the highlight of the PDC calendar and takes place over Christmas and New Year at the Alexandra Palace in London.

Since it was first held at the Circus Tavern in 1994 following the much-publisiced breakaway from the British Darts Organisation, only seven different players have lifted the world title thanks largely to darts legend Phil 'The Power' Taylor winning it no fewer than 14 times during his astonishing career.

He also won the BDO version twice before the split to make it 16 times in total.Dennis Priestley beat Phil Taylor 6-1 in the first final before The Power's era of dominance began with eight straight world championships before Canada's John Part famously defeated him 7-6 in a classic in 2003 - much to the bookmaker's relief!

Three more crowns followed for perennial odds-on favourite Taylor before Raymond van Barneveld triumphed 7-6 in another unforgettable final, while John Part's victory over Kirk Shepherd in 2008 was the first time The Power failed to reach the final in the tournament's history. It was also the year the event switched to the Alexandra Palace.

A resurgent Phil Taylor claimed back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010 before Adrian 'Jackpot' Lewis emerged on the world stage by beating Gary Anderson in the 2011 final before repeating the trick against Andy Hamilton 12 months later.

Phil Taylor reassured the doubters he could still win world titles by clinching his 14th crown against Michael van Gerwen, who bounced back to lift the trophy in 2014 with victory over Peter Wright.

Mighty Mike was the hot bookies favourite to win again a year later but didn't even make the final as Gary Anderson held his nerve to sink Phil Taylor 7-6 for his first world championship title.A popular market to bet on is whether there will be a nine-dart finish although the world championship had to wait until Raymond van Barneveld's effort in 2009 for its first.

There have been seven since then, although four of those have been in vain during defeats, while Phil Taylor has never hit one in this tournament.

PDC World Darts Championship Finals

• Final scores in sets

1994 - Dennis Priestley 6-1 Phil Taylor
1995 - Phil Taylor 6-2 Rod Harrington
1996 - Phil Taylor 6-4 Dennis Priestley
1997 - Phil Taylor 6-3 Dennis Priestley
1998 - Phil Taylor 6-0 Dennis Priestley
1999 - Phil Taylor 6-2 Peter Manley
2000 - Phil Taylor 7-3 Dennis Priestley
2001 - Phil Taylor 7-0 John Part
2002 - Phil Taylor 7-0 Peter Manley
2003 - John Part 7-6 Phil Taylor
2004 - Phil Taylor 7-6 Kevin Painter
2005 - Phil Taylor 7-4 Mark Dudbridge
2006 - Phil Taylor 7-0 Peter Manley
2007 - Raymond van Barneveld 7-6 Phil Taylor
2008 - John Part 7-2 Kirk Shepherd
2009 - Phil Taylor 7-1 Raymond van Barneveld
2010 - Phil Taylor 7-3 Simon Whitlock
2011 - Adrian Lewis 7-5 Gary Anderson
2012 - Adrian Lewis 7-3 Andy Hamilton
2013 - Phil Taylor 7-4 Michael van Gerwen
2014 - Michael van Gerwen 7-4 Peter Wright
2015 - Gary Anderson 7-6 Phil Taylor

PDC World Darts Championship Most Titles

Phil Taylor - 14
John Part - 2
Adrian Lewis - 2
Dennis Priestly - 1
Raymond van Barneveld - 1
Michael van Gerwen - 1
Gary Anderson - 1

PDC World Darts Championship Nine-Dart Finishes

Raymond van Barneveld - 2009 (QF v win v Jelle Klaasen)
Raymond van Barneveld - 2010 (2nd Rd win v Brendan Dolan)
Adrian Lewis - 2011 (Final win v Gary Anderson)
Dean Winstanley - 2013 (2nd Rd loss v Vincent van der Voort)
Michael van Gerwen - 2013 (SF win v James Wade)
Terry Jenkins - 2014 (1st Rd loss v Per Laursen)
Kyle Anderson - 2014 (1st Rd loss v Ian White)
Adrian Lewis - 2015 (3rd Rd loss v Raymond van Barneveld)